[LINK] Re: Windows XP versus Vista

Kim Holburn kim at holburn.net
Fri Jan 25 19:29:09 AEDT 2008


On 2008/Jan/25, at 4:43 AM, 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?
>
> 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.

Here's some reading on the subject:

Security Report: Windows vs Linux
http://www.theregister.co.uk/security/security_report_windows_vs_linux/

2006 Operating System Vulnerability Summary
http://www.omninerd.com/2007/03/26/articles/74

Linux vs. Windows: Which is Most Secure?
http://www.esecurityplanet.com/views/article.php/3665801

Linux Security: A Big Edge Over Windows
http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/54742.html

The problems with Vista laid bare - What might have been
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=38419

Why Windows is less secure than Linux
http://blogs.zdnet.com/threatchaos/?p=311

Linux more secure than Windows, national survey shows
http://www.xomba.com/ 
linux_more_secure_than_windows_national_survey_shows

Microsoft Windows: Insecure by Design
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A34978-2003Aug23? 
language=printer

If Only We Knew Then What We Know Now About Windows XP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/23/ 
AR2006092300510.html?nav=rss_technology

Why Windows is a security nightmare.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/21/1085120110704.html

The Structural Failures of Windows
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=15305



>
> David
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Rick Welykochy <rick at praxis.com.au>
> To: stephen at melbpc.org.au
> Cc: link at anu.edu.au
> Sent: Friday, 25 January, 2008 4:58:43 AM
> Subject: Re: [LINK] Re:  Windows XP versus Vista
>
> stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
>
>> Come on Microsoft, give XP to the world. You've finished with it, you
>
>> don't want it, you're going virtual  ...
>
> I've got one word to say to you, Stephen: Zombies. Well, several  
> words:
> bot wars (on Windows), bot armies, DDos attacks, SPAM and PRON
>  distribution,
> identity theft, sophisticated phishing. These are all possible  
> courtesy
> of one single IT company: Microsoft. The current dismal security
>  situation
> on the Net is mainly due to the "ease of use" promoted by Microsoft.
>
> WinXP is a very bad move if WinXP is no longer supported with security
> updates. New exploits are found in Windows all the time. And this
> will not end tomorrow.
>
> The only safe Windows box is disconnected from the Internet.
>
> In safely configured server installations, Linux/Unix lives out there
> on the periphery (sometimes even being the periphery), and Windows
>  servers
> are located way inside the secure zones, completely isolated and
>  firewalled
> from the Internet. As many services as possible are proxied before
> being sent on to Windows. You know the drill: email cascades through
> Linux-run services before being handed over to Exchange. Apache on
> Linux reverse proxies traffic or redirects to internal IIS services.
> Etc. etc.
>
> On the client side, you have a snowflake's chance in hell of directly
> connecting a WinXP box to the Internet, get the security updates
>  downloaded
> and installed and reboot before your box is compromised. This has been
> discussed time and time again on the list. It takes advanced technical
> skill to get a Winders box setup and on the Net without it being
>  compromised
> in minutes.
>
> Giving WinXP to millions of unskilled users will only make the current
>  problems
> on the Internet worse. Add third world conditions to the mix, and
>  you've
> got an ever-escalating threat. In Australia we have access to and can
>  afford
> the myriad extra resources required to secure client-side Windows,  
> even
>  if most
> consumers don't bother the use them. In the third world, these
>  resources are
> scarce, cost money and I doubt will be used at all.
>
> Getting back to zombies (i.e. the compromised box sitting in your
>  loungeroom),
> we all know they can be used for distributing SPAM and PRON. But they
>  can also
> be used to tunnel and hide traffic usage patterns (think of a Tor- 
> style
>  bot net).
> This presents a rather serious security threat. It makes the task of
>  tracking
> terrorist communications that much harder, if not impossible. It
>  stymies
> law enforcement tracking down and stamping out kiddie pron. In  
> general,
>  zombies
> present a new security threat that has not even begin to be dealt  
> with.
>
>
>> Virtualization
>> Microsoft Pushes Virtualization
>> Wendy Tanaka, 01.22.08, 12:01 AM ET
>>
>  <http://www.forbes.com/technology/enterprisetech/2008/01/20/ 
> microsoft-
>> vmware-calista-tech-cx_wt_0121microsoft.html>
>>
>> "Watch out, VMware. We're coming after your space!" is the underlying
>
>> message of Microsoft's new strategy for virtualization--software
>  services
>> that help businesses reduce costs and improve business processes.
>>
>> Microsoft on Monday planned to announce what it calls a companywide
>> strategy to accelerate broad adoption of virtualization by its
>  customers.
>>
>> As part of its new approach, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant
>> unveiled a suite of services aimed at reducing the number of servers
>> businesses need to use, separating applications from operating
>  systems,
>> reducing costs, and--thanks to trimmed energy use--lowering carbon
>> emissions.
>
> This *might* be welcomed on the server side. With current offerings, a
> medium-size Windows-based enterprise must deploy one box for SQL
>  database,
> another for email services, yet another for file sharing and printing,
> ... you get the picture. Windows has serious scaleability issues that
> are addressed by installing more and more hardware.
>
> Compare this to Linux. On the one box, all these services are  
> installed
> and deployed, and the box usually sits there at 50% idle.
>
> I know I am generalising, but this is a common pattern when comparing
> a Windows server installation to a Linux one.
>
> But get this: if Windows right now requires one to distribute various
>  daemons
> (services) on different physical boxes due to scaleability issues,  
> that
> problem does not vanish when one moves to virtualisation. Smoke and
>  mirrors
> and *extra grunt*  will make it appear that there is a gain, but at  
> the
>  cost
> of replacing, say, ten individual boxes with one with ten times the
>  grunt,
> hardware, memory and expense. There may be some savings through a
>  refactoring
> effect in the shared hardware. I don't know if this has been
>  quantified.
>
> Of course, once again, Microsoft is not an innovator in the area of
>  virtualisation.
> As mentioned in the article, they'll be acquiring, embracing and
>  extinguishing
> to accomplish their goal. Don't believe the hype. This is yet again  
> Not
>  A Good Thing.
> It is yet another attempt by Microsoft to clear-fell another sector of
>  the
> IT market.
>
>
> cheers
> rickw
>
>
> -- 
> _________________________________
> Rick Welykochy || Praxis Services
>
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>  change in
> your circumstances.
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--
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
Ph: +39 06 855 4294  M: +39 3494957443
mailto:kim at holburn.net  aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request

Democracy imposed from without is the severest form of tyranny.
                           -- Lloyd Biggle, Jr. Analog, Apr 1961






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