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Arne Bolen
User of Anveo Direct, 3CX and Qubes OS.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-21
Utopia

2 recommendations

Arne Bolen to Mike Wolf

Premium Member

to Mike Wolf

Re: CallCentric tech issues today?

said by Mike Wolf:

oh come on now don't start with the Windows bashing, You're better then that.

It's not Windows bashing, it's a fact.

The criminals behind a DDoS attack needs lots of computers and they don't want to purchase and use their own computers. So they take control over Windows computers as Windows is the easiest OS to infect.

There are millions of Mac or Linux computers out there without any antivirus software, but the criminals always choose Windows computers.

Because it's too difficult to get permission from Mac/Linux users to abuse their computers. They don't need to ask owners of Windows computers for permission.

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

1 recommendation

VexorgTR

Member

said by Arne Bolen:

The criminals behind a DDoS attack needs lots of computers and they don't want to purchase and use their own computers. So they take control over Windows computers as Windows is the easiest OS to infect.

Playing devil's advocate.... Windows 7 security is much better. Earlier XP machines are an easier target, and they're plentiful. I don't think it's that they couldn't hit Mac or Linux, but if you want to hit the MASS market, it's old school Microsoft.
rblizz
join:2001-12-16
North Richland Hills, TX

rblizz

Member

said by VexorgTR:

Playing devil's advocate.... Windows 7 security is much better. Earlier XP machines are an easier target, and they're plentiful. I don't think it's that they couldn't hit Mac or Linux, but if you want to hit the MASS market, it's old school Microsoft.

Linux design and multiple distributions make it much harder to hit Linux. So they take what's easy.

Davesnothere
Change is NOT Necessarily Progress
Premium Member
join:2009-06-15
Canada

Davesnothere

Premium Member

said by rblizz:

said by VexorgTR:

Playing devil's advocate.... Windows 7 security is much better. Earlier XP machines are an easier target, and they're plentiful. I don't think it's that they couldn't hit Mac or Linux, but if you want to hit the MASS market, it's old school Microsoft.

Linux design and multiple distributions make it much harder to hit Linux.

So they take what's easy.

 
The proverbial 'low-hanging fruit', as it were.
bigjoesmith
join:2000-11-21
Peoria, IL

1 recommendation

bigjoesmith to Arne Bolen

Member

to Arne Bolen
said by Arne Bolen:

said by Mike Wolf:

oh come on now don't start with the Windows bashing, You're better then that.

It's not Windows bashing, it's a fact.

Ok, this is off topic, but I would suggest that the relative security of Windows is much less cut and dried than the common perception that Windows is Swiss Cheese. Microsoft has invested more time and money in security than any of the other majors. Their security response center is light years ahead of most of the other majors: Oracle, Adobe, and Apple are miles behind and much slower in patching. All software has bugs; a decent response center is a necessary resource for security. Microsoft has in the last few years been at the forefront of many new security technologies and its software under the watchful eye of security researchers more than other system. For example, OpenBSD was first non-research OS to implement ASLR, various Linux kernel builds were next (with the early ones being rather weak), but Microsoft was not too far behind with a reasonably complete ASLR in Vista and continual improvements since then. This was ahead of Mac OSX, which didn't get full ASLR until Lion and Mountain Lion for the kernel.

I would suggest that the results of the Pwn2Own contest, where people earn prizes for exploits, is probably a better test than statements about the number of exploits, where Window's market share (and large numbers of older versions of Windows) makes it a much more logical target. If you look at the results of the Pwn2Own annual contest Windows does quite well. Linux probably survives the best over the years, but OSX is certainly not ahead of Windows over the years. In fact, Windows itself is never targeted in these attacks anymore (too difficult), and it's much more common to exploit 3rd party software, browsers in particular, and browser plugins (cough flash cough java). Of the browsers, Safari has been exploited every year except this year. This year was the first that either IE9 and Chrome were exploited.

Trimline
Premium Member
join:2004-10-24
Windermere, FL

1 recommendation

Trimline

Premium Member

For everyone reading this post and the threads, kindly stay focused on the outage we are all enduring. I'm not interested in reading which OS is better (there are better places to discuss this), I'm interested in resolve.