Security Statistics and Operating System Conventional Wisdom

kev0153 writes "Microsoft Windows is more secure than you think, and Mac OS X is worse than you ever imagined. That is according to statistics published for the first time this week by Danish security firm Secunia. "Secunia is now displaying security statistics that will open many eyes, and for some it might be very disturbing news," said Secunia chief executive Niels Henrik Rasmussen. "The myth that Mac OS X is secure, for example, has been exposed." "

Welcome to Bizzaro World!

[Zorilla]

...where MS wants you to use Firefox and Mac OS X is less secure than Windows!

On a side note...

[Anonymous Coward]

We would all like to thank the millions of dollars Microsoft invested in our research to bring it to the successful conclusion.

It took us a couple of tries to get the results so that they would give us the right answer, but eventually we figured out a way. Microsoft kept funding us all along the way.

Thank you!

And whom funded this 'article'

[nurb432]

If you trace the money, there wont be much suprise in who it leads back too.

Follow the money.

[user no. 590291]

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find that this "Secunia" derives funding from a common source with SCO.

Mac OSX and Linux - face the facts

[Anonymous Coward]

The Mac and Linux communities need to accept the fact that Windows, however much you might HATE Microsoft, is more secure.

How many independent reports have we seen that come to the same conclusion? 10? 20? The head in the sand approach won't work. The "Microsoft Shill" theory doesn't hold water.

No, it is time for the Linux community to address these issues and bring Linux back up to the level of Windows.

And by the way, I'm a cybersecurity consultant, so I know what I'm talking about.

MOD GRANDPARENT POST FLAMEBAIT

[Anonymous Coward]

It had to be said

FUD?

[Anonymous Coward]

Each product is broken down into pie charts demonstrating how many, what type and how significant security holes have been in each.

FINALLY, someone who knows about pie charts, its so clear now, absolutlely no fud can be present in pie charts..

Lets be positive. I'm trying to rtfa but I keep having to do my 'chants' to get over the fud-ish language.

Maybe there's something in this,.. when I find some actually 'stuff' I'll get back to you.

Micorsoft?

[philkar77]

from the article: "The Micorsoft Windows application is more secure than you think..."

Re:Before we all jump on the AdTI bandwagon...

[Anonymous Coward]

Who invited you to the party?

A statistic is like a whore...

[rainer_d]

...everybody can fuck around with her, while paying.

The solution is clear ...

[operagost]

Use VMS! [openvms.org]

Re:FUD?

[Anonymous Coward]

Reminds me of a good quote from Mike Gordon of Phish: "It is kind of silly when they're making pie graphs about set list openers. But then, I always liked a good graph."

Re:Don't dismiss this

[Accipiter]

Leaking like swiss cheese?

Did you perhaps mean to say "leaking like a sieve" or "full of holes like swiss cheese?"

Most secure OS: MacOS 9!

[YouHaveSnail]

Friends, it's clear from Secunia's own data [secunia.com] that we should all switch back to MacOS 9, since Secunia knows of only one security issue for that OS.

Friends, you just can't argue with pie charts.

Epilogue

[dh003i]

But if you want to have as much security by default as is possible, there's always OpenBSD.

Re:Missing Stats?

[sunwukong]

I'd like to add another moderation category: grumpy old man. ;-)

Of course, I'm as guilty too ...

Re:Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

[jaseuk]

erm, if there are more exploits thats more weekends!

The solution

[anynameleft]

I know what you need to do when you want a file server, use File Exchange! Sure, it is exploitable (can be crashed, vulnerable to DoS, possibly allows access to every file on the server to anybody) but heck, I haven't had the time to issue advisories yet! And if I had, the leaks are years old already! And if they hadn't, it would be only three advisories!

And sure it runs on Windows, but what OS has been "proven" to be the safest by Secunia :-P

Re:Epilogue

[bfg9000]

Mod INSIGHTFUL, not FUNNY. There's nothing funny about choosing OpenBSD [openbsd.org] for security; it's the BEST solution by far, and it's sheer arrogance to think that the other OSes mentioned here are anywhere close to a properly configured OpenBSD box. I still use (and love) Linux and MacOS X for what they excel at; but if I was building an Internet Banking site, I'd choose OpenBSD without blinking.

Security is what they DO; it's the reason they exist. If security is your Number One focus, choosing anything else is just wrong.

I'm safe.

[Gordon Bennett]

See, I said that not upgrading my Apple Lisa would pay off in the end.

BwuahahahaHAHAHA!

[Qbertino]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
BWUAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !
*GASP!*
*wipes tears from eyes* ...UAHAHAHAHA! (etc.)

I'll buy into the Linux isn't the heaven of security thing and also that we'll have some stuff heading our way once Unix desktops (Mac OS X and Linux) are mainstream and that there'll be some stuff to get sorted out. One being the ridance of the allmighty root.
But good heavens, what a load of bullcrap this article is.
Give me a break. Windows XP is evidently the most insecure OS on the Inet ever! You can probably even root the damn thing through it's media player using a pipe organ emulating modem tones. Every Idiot on this entire planet can write a Outlook-compatible VBScript twoliner that formats your HD, blows your UPC, floods the Net with "Bigger Dick NOW!" E-Mails and Sasser rippoffs and shuts down the power grid on your entire block.

And now these silly f*ckers through about with statistics listing the amount of security warnings and using them to rate the secureness of an OS? Give me a f*ckin' break, man. These people probably just got some Mickeysoft gold partner contract shoved up their behind and now wanna play nice with the dark side.

What a truckload of nonsense. I can't believe this makes it onto a IT webzine nowadays.