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Subject:Re: Viva le Same! Linux From:Andrew Plato <gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 1 Oct 2002 22:55:43 -0700 (PDT)
> > Hence you're expectations that MS respond the same as a group that
> > monitors a
> > SINGLE product is ludacrious.
> No, it's not ludicrous. If you can't take the time to engineer, build
> and support a piece of software correctly, then you shouldn't be
> selling it. And no, this isn't about Apache or Linux. Recently when a
> vulnerability was found in Apple's Software Update utility, it took
> them less than a day to have a new version ready for download. That's
> responsibility.
You have 100 apples, and I have 2 apples
One of your apples has a worm in it, and one of mine does.
Who will locate the worm faster?
Think about that and get back to me.
> Just like any other job that has a high-level of responsibility
> associated with it, if you can't do it right, then you should be doing
> something else.
So what exactly is MS doing wrong? I mean they have like 92 billion in assets.
They must have done at least a FEW things right.
Finally - somebody who can post some actual evidence.
Good article. Guess what - Linux wasn't engineered with security in mind either.
It got added in later on. Most OSs out there were never designed from the ground
up to be secure.
Windows was designed with usability in mind. Its why it is so widely used. It can
do just about everything. Now they are playing catch up to secure the platform.
This is no different from most OSs. Security was not part of the original design.
As such, they have had to be patched over the years. Again, MS is bigger and has
a lot more components, so their weaknesses have a more profound impact.
If you want a really secure OS, I suggest you check out my pals at Wirex
www.wirex.com. They have appliances based on SE Linux. Tell them Andrew Plato
sent you.
> Of course you can "secure" any box, even Windows NT (unplug keyboard,
> remove floppy drive, unplug mouse, etc.), but to say it is secured is a
> fallacy.
> You've only raised the stakes a little--made it harder for the
> bad guys to do what they want. The difference is, securing a open
> source software solution like OpenBSD doesn't take a fleet of
> "security" experts.
Oh really? Have you ever secured an OpenBSD machine?
> Securing an OpenBSD box, I don't have to dance through all kinds of
> hoops, implement all kinds of kludges, remove all kinds of
> "functionality" to make my box "secure" (until the next bit of sloppy
> programming that doesn't have any bounds checking is discovered and I
> have to start building the house-of-cards all over again).
You don't? So you just pop in the ol source, compile it, slap in on a box and
whammo - instant security? You know something I don't?
> Finally, I think it's simplistic to think that people don't like
> Microsoft simply because Microsoft is big. GM is a hell of a lot bigger
> than Microsoft, and no one is beating down their doors.
They made an entire movie about how evil GM was. Roger and Me. Hey, if we're
going to start talking cars, then I am all with you on GM. They are evil. Have
you ever driven a Pontiac Grand Am. Shiver. The IIS of sports sedans! :-)
> No one really
> cares about GM because GM delivers on its promises. You buy a GM car,
> you get what you pay for.
That's for certain.
> People don't like Microsoft because they feel
> Microsoft has cheated them out of their money. Put another way, people
> don't like Microsoft because people don't like getting ripped off.
So - don't use a Microsoft box. Use a Linux box. Nobody is forcing you to use
Windows. You are not mandated by UN Security Council to use Microsoft Windows.
Demand your rights, man. Be free. Nobody will stop you. But don't expect
everybody to follow you.
And make sure the next job you apply for, you stand up tall and proud and
proclaim "I will not use a Windows product in my job for I refuse to be ripped
off! In fact, today I will have Open BSD. For I am an open-source supporter and
proud of it!"
Make sure to use your best Graham Chapman voice (see Monty Python, Meaning of
Life)
Let us know how that works for you.
> Big corporate types don't really care what it runs because they don't
> have to work with it.
But they do have to pay for it. And...oh, that's a huge discussion in and of
itself.
Andrew Plato
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