RE: New Computer? Six Steps to Safer Surfing

["Christopher L. Morrow" <christopher.morrow () mci com>]

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004, Scott Morris wrote:

> So when the majority of people begin using a different operating system, is
> there some reason that the majority of virus-writers or other malcontents
> wouldn't focus on the flaws there?
>
> Or are we stuck in this little bubble thinking that unix REALLY is THAT
> secure?
>
> Perhaps it is, but my viewpoint is that it's really shortsighted to make
> this assumption.  Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean that it
> can't.  Wolves go where the sheep are plentiful and less protected.  As they

it has happened:
iis/sadmin worm 2001-may
apache-scalper worm
l10n worm
morris-sendmail-extravaganza
current-ssh-exploit-fun

there are others of course... it's not the OS that matters in the long
run, it's the administration of that OS (or so it seems to me, admittedly
not a sysadmin though, anymore). Sure, initial/default installs might be
problematic in one/all OS's, but by and large extended lifetimes on a
live/hostile network means patches must be applied. Seems like that
doesn't happen by and large.

-Chris