What are some of the advantages of Unix/Linux over windows?
I have to debate why Unix/Linux is better/ more secure than Windows. Any ideas?
This is for my computer security class. We split up into two groups, and my group has to show some of the reasons that Unix based OS's are more secure than Windows.
I disagree that Linux isn't safer than Windows. Windows has a very long history of having HUNDREDS of vulnerabilities every year. It really opened my eyes when I started manualy approving all updates for Windows on my network at work.
Yes Linux has the same problems, but far fewer and are usually fixed FAR more quickly. There are also far more people working on these problems and on feature upgrades.
The question regarding viruses is pretty much the same, as Linux is more hardened against viruses overall. There is something to say though that there would be more rootkits for Linux out there if the average joe/jane use Linux more often.
As far as usability, Ubuntu has gone a long way to making it user friendly. It is also one of the easiest to install, making it a snap to install Ubuntu on your Windows system and letting both Windows and Ubuntu work. You just pick which one you want when you turn on the PC.
I suggest giving it a try. Feel free to message me if you have any Linux questions down the road.
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
The whole belief that Linux is safer than Windows is a myth. It's just that the majority of Linux users are smarter than Windows users and are only using Linux because the know how to. It's a lot of preference when it comes down to it. If you have never used any Unix based system, then Linux will be very strange to you. Just try it out though. Windows is more user friendly for the non-advanced computer user. I suggest installing Ubuntu on a partition on your HDD and just try it out. Ubuntu is very easy to start with.
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June 3rd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
IE is part of the OS so it allows a direct connection to inject bad code through the browser straight to the core.
using Firefox is a good seperation of OS and browser.
Unix is completely isolated.
Read this for a good walk through:
http://www.commercialventvac.com/~jeffs/WindowsVsLinuxSecurity.html
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June 3rd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Linux is free.
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June 3rd, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I disagree that Linux isn't safer than Windows. Windows has a very long history of having HUNDREDS of vulnerabilities every year. It really opened my eyes when I started manualy approving all updates for Windows on my network at work.
Yes Linux has the same problems, but far fewer and are usually fixed FAR more quickly. There are also far more people working on these problems and on feature upgrades.
The question regarding viruses is pretty much the same, as Linux is more hardened against viruses overall. There is something to say though that there would be more rootkits for Linux out there if the average joe/jane use Linux more often.
As far as usability, Ubuntu has gone a long way to making it user friendly. It is also one of the easiest to install, making it a snap to install Ubuntu on your Windows system and letting both Windows and Ubuntu work. You just pick which one you want when you turn on the PC.
I suggest giving it a try. Feel free to message me if you have any Linux questions down the road.
References :
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
For one advantage I think of, they are more secured from viruses than Windows.
References :
http://www.getgnulinux.org/windows/what_about_source_code/
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Linux is not safer than windows. It actually has more bugs (I believe that the NSA has a statistic on that, actually). Linux is just free, which makes it a good choice in some situations.
Linux is free if your time is worthless. If you don't know how to use linux, chances are that you will be happier with windows, because it is easier to perform simple tasks with it.
If you have time to spend on the project and time to learn linux, go with debian. It's really free, as opposed to redhat and SuSE.
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June 7th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Well one of Windows' biggest security problems come from the fact that Internet Explorer is integrated into the OS, so any vulnerability affecting IE will hurt Windows even if IE isn't open.
Also, a way that Linux could potentially be more secure is that it's all modular. If there's a package which is discovered to have a vulnerability you can just swap it out yourself whereas with Windows you have to wait til Microsoft decides to do it for you through Windows Update.
Also in Linux you can fix security problems yourself if you know how. Again, in Windows you have to wait til Microsoft do it for you.
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