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Story: Secure web browsing through Live Linux distrosTotal Replies: 10
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tuxchick

Jul 04, 2007
8:07 PM EDT
I know that Linux is not immune from exploits, but I sure wish that authors of articles like this were not so shy about saying 'Web-surfing with Windows is like saying "come and get it, what's mine is yours. Protect yourself with a live Linux bootable CD, because Microsoft is too lame to fix their own crapware."'

I also wish any online vendor, whether it's banks or stores or anyone who moves money and personal data, would post advisories warning of the dangers of using windows + IE. Using a different browser helps a bit, but does not cure the underlying problem of Windows issuing a warm welcome to any and all stray executables, while simultaneously obscuring everything that is important from the user.
gus3

Jul 04, 2007
11:39 PM EDT
If you have your own web page/weblog, I hope you copy/paste that to it. You said in three sentences what usually takes me five breaths. More people need to read that, and have it handy as a ready rebuttal.
Abe

Jul 05, 2007
7:15 AM EDT
Quoting:I also wish any online vendor, whether it's banks or stores or anyone who moves money and personal data, would post advisories warning of the dangers of using windows + IE.
It's a wishful thinking TC. Feeling secure is a state of mind.

With all the talks MS makes about their commitment to security and reliability, they have got too many consumers and outfits so deceived and brainwashed to a point of no return. It is going to require a new generation to realize how bad security is with Windows platform.

One would think that famous Depart. of Homeland Security (DHS) would do something about it, but nah, MS was even able to stop the NSA from pursuing more secure Linux using their "influence" as usual.



tracyanne

Jul 05, 2007
1:45 PM EDT
Quoting:With all the talks MS makes about their commitment to security and reliability, they have got too many consumers and outfits so deceived and brainwashed to a point of no return.


You can that again. My boss said to me yesterday. "I can't understand why people put so much effort into writing viruses, what with all the anti virus software available"
tqk

Jul 06, 2007
9:52 AM EDT
tracyanne:
Quoting:"I can't understand why people put so much effort into writing viruses, what with all the anti virus software available"
Obviously, he's oblivious to the bit about the best AV software out there only catches 80% of the malware coming down the pipe.

I was stunned to learn about a year ago that the so-called "Power Users" were running a mix of several suites of AV software. This app from this suite does $foo better than that app from that suite does $foo ...

Can you imagine? MacAffee + F-Secure + Symantec all at once, all demanding periodic licence updates, all popping up security alerts on every packet coming down the wire, ...

How anyone could actually *prefer* to run computers like this just boggles the mind.
Sander_Marechal

Jul 06, 2007
12:53 PM EDT
Quoting:MacAffee + F-Secure + Symantec


That's a weird combination since all three basically function the same way. Howerer, running multiple AVs that work differently makes sense. E.g. running McAffee (signature scanner -- find the bulk of known virusses) + Kaspersky (heuristics -- finds less known but offers better protection against new/unknown virusses)
tuxchick

Jul 06, 2007
1:22 PM EDT
So the formula is "belt, suspenders, raincoat, waders, umbrella" and you're still going to miss a sizable number of malwares. Or to use another analogy: feebly attempt to protect the glass house instead of building a strong house.

Oh well, people used to rebuild their houses repeatedly on the exact same spot despite being flooded out multiple times. Until insurance companies got tired of paying for them. Humans. Gotta love 'em. Oh wait, no I don't.
tracyanne

Jul 06, 2007
3:13 PM EDT
Quoting:Obviously, he's oblivious to the bit about the best AV software out there only catches 80% of the malware coming down the pipe.


Apparently so, he also seems to have forgotten that I've already shown him an operating system (repeatedly), that doesn't get viruses. He's also using MS Vista, and I must hear the Microsoft "Tada!" start up tune 4 or 5 times a day, but that also doesn't seem to penetrate - in his mind all operating systems need to be rebooted regularly.

It's a bit like the argument I had with a bloke in a Harvey Norman store. I told him Linux doesn't get viruses, he said all operating systems get viruses - he must have been thinking Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, etc.
tqk

Jul 07, 2007
9:19 AM EDT
Quoting:He's also using MS Vista, and I must hear the Microsoft "Tada!" start up tune 4 or 5 times a day, but that also doesn't seem to penetrate - in his mind all operating systems need to be rebooted regularly.
35 3 * * * /usr/bin/uptime | /usr/bin/mutt -s "Haa haaaaa!" boss @ job.com
tqk

Jul 07, 2007
9:34 AM EDT
Quoting:... feebly attempt to protect the glass house instead of building a strong house.
You forgot to mention the part about, "... sticking fingers in one's ears and singing la, la, la over and over again so no clues have a chance to get in."

Both Macs (even pre-MacOSX) and *nix are largely immune to malware. How many years has that been the case? Yet Windows people just slog along, decade after decade, assuming malware's just the way it is and it's a fact of life.

I'm not just talking about Joe Sixpack and Grandma. I'm including businesses, who you'd think would have some interest in their bottom line. How thick headed can one be and still make it through the day alive?!?
gus3

Jul 08, 2007
9:15 PM EDT
tqk:

Macs are somewhat more immune to viruses now, thanks to a true privilege system (*nix-based, of course). However, the first time I ever heard of a computer virus was in 1989, and the infected system was running the newest MacOS on a college network. The Morris worm was still recent memory, so all the publicly available Macs on the network were loaded with anti-virus programs, and all private owners of Macs attached to the network were told that they would not get helpdesk support without anti-virus software installed.

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