[LINK] Re: Windows XP versus Vista

[Rick Welykochy]

David Goldstein wrote:

> How much is the security problem with Microsoft products to do with if you attack Windows-based computers you can potentially reach well over 90% of the world's computers and how much is to do with the design of the software?

It is 100% with the design of the software. The ubiquity argument doesn't wash.
We've covered this on Link many times. Lots of good counter examples, most
popular being Apache.


> Whatever its validity there are stories circulating more and more of hackers hacking into Mac computers, precisely because there are more of them now and it's becoming worthwhile for hackers to delve into this area.

"stories" ... meh!

Repeat after me. Ubiquity != insecurity.

Do you have a technical background, David?
Anyone who does will ask the first question: where are these stories? And are they FUD?

Then they will quote you the numbers:

Windows: in excess of 60,000 viruses, 100's of millions of compromised machines.

*nix + Mac: a handful of viruses, conceptually. None demonstrateed in the wild AFAIK.
I can only guess at the number of compromised machines, but no zombies. A couple of
worms ran through Unix and Net in all of its history. No bot storms. No SPAM relaying.
Nothing else. Go figure.

But people cling onto the best-marketed pile of crap on the planet. And no one
want to hear that they have made a bad consumer / enterprise choice.

Enough said. This has been going around in circles on Link for years.


cheers
rickw



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