WinInformant Says Windows More Secure Than Linux 935
nihilist_1137 excerpts from this WinInformant article, which reads in part: "For at least the first 8 months of 2001, open-source poster child Linux was far less secure than Windows, according to the reputable NTBugTraq, which is hosted by SecurityFocus, the leading provider of security information about the Internet. ... A look at the previous 5 years--for which the data is more complete--also shows that each year, Win2K and Windows NT had far fewer security vulnerabilities than Linux, despite the fact that Windows is deployed on a far wider basis than any version of Linux." I wonder how many sysadmins (Windows or Linux) would agree with this conclusion. Update: 02/04 16:54 GMT by T : Looks like the WinInfo site has gone down since the story was submitted, so you may have to content yourself in the meantime with the Bugtraq numbers. Update: 02/04 19:30 GMT by T :Several readers have pointed out that the conclusions WinInformant makes based on the Bugtraq data are not those of SecurityFocus; the headline has been changed accordingly.
In Other News (Score:5, Funny)
in a related story... (Score:1, Funny)
Not being a Windows apologist (Score:5, Funny)
Take this example: you have a highly competent NT/2K administrator (they do exist) and a pitiful *nix administrator. Which one is going to produce a more secure box? Any objective person would have to say the NT/2K guy would, because he knows his platform well enough to shore up vulnerabilities. Nimda, I Love You, and many other worms did not hit affect my company because we took security very seriously beforehand. Malicious attachments (.EXE,
Now, having played devil's advocate for a moment, let me say that if you have a tightly controlled *nix box with a competent admin and a focus on security, you can create a damn near impregnable system. The weaknesses then lie with the applications, not the OS, and that's something ALL vendors need to work on (you listening, Larry "Unbreakable" Ellison?)
Re:Lousy research (Score:2, Funny)
LOL. I can just hear MS PR:
"All Microsoft software products are inextricably tied to the operating system...except when they are mentioned in a security announcement."
Re:Define "more secure" (Score:2, Funny)
This just in ... (Score:3, Funny)
Warning: Connectiva does not support vulnerabilities and all calls will be redirected to the nearest OS distributor.
Re:Define "more secure" (Score:2, Funny)
Shouldn't this... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Severity of vulnerabilities (Score:2, Funny)
The Virus Bowl (Score:2, Funny)
OS:Linux
--------------
Virus:Sendmail, Wu-ftpd
OS:Windows
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Virus:Windows
They neglect the 600 OE viruses each year...
Re:So comparing win9x to win2k security is fair? (Score:1, Funny)
Vulnerability 1 -- The Product has no security features.
wininformant.com eats its own dog food ... (Score:2, Funny)
As of this morning, however, the dog seems to be dead (www.wininformant.com.) Coincidence? You tell me.
Re:Less because MS doesnt tell (Score:3, Funny)