Micha Feigin wrote:
I am guessing that the fact that most of these viruses etc. appear on windows is more due to popularity then security. The fact that it is also easier and thus every script kidy can patch up a virus of of a couple of scripts found on the internet probably helps also. Linux is just not popular enough yet to entice script kidys and macs are just to damn hard to program for (at list up to os9, don't know where osX stands).
That's really not a valid argument. Case in point: Apache. If you take a quick look at Netcraft, Apache (not specifically Linux/Apache, but Apache on all OSes it supports) runs:
Developer September 2003 Percent October 2003 Percent Change Apache 27836622 64.52 28235972 64.61 0.09 Microsoft 10156289 23.54 10252227 23.46 -0.08 SunONE 1501241 3.48 1528090 3.50 0.02 Zeus 742950 1.72 735179 1.68 -0.04So Apache runs almost three times the number of sites as IIS does, but IIS sites are cracked something like 3-to-1 compared to Apache (don't quote me on that, but that is what I seem to recall as the correct number and I can't find the reference).
Basically, when security is part of the original design process (as it has been with Apache, BSD, and Linux), it is easy to make a system/application that is by default very secure. OTOH, MS is struggling to maintain reverse compatibility but tighten things up, which decidedly harder than if they had simply started the design with security in mind.
Just my $.02 -Roberto
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