Re: [libreoffice-users] Re: JRE older installs - Windows - nowonline- no need for Oracleaccount

Hi,

On Sat, 2011-09-03 at 18:49 +0100, Tom Davies wrote:


> <snip />
>
> Luckily Ubuntu is not targeted to the degree that MS Windows is and thus you 
> have a lesser degree of exploitation.
>
> Dave
> Multi-AV Scanning Tool - http://multi-av.thespykiller.co.uk
> http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp 
>
>
> Hi :)
> Hmm, not quite the case.  Servers would make a far better target than desktops 
> if the aim of malware is to cause disruption or grab data.  Pranks and accidents 
> are sooo last decade.  
>
>
> However, we still hardly ever hear about servers suffering.  If it happens at 
> all it often gets reported in the mainstream news because it's so rare.  So, why 
> is it so common-place to hear of desktops getting infected instead of servers?  
>
>
> Interestingly it's the market where MS is dominant that has the most trouble 
> with malware.  Most big servers run Gnu&Linux, Bsd or some other Unix-based 
> platform precisely because stability and security are more important.  
>
> http://librenix.com/?inode=21
>
> Even if we just look at desktops we would expect a platform such as Mac at an 
> estimated 20% of the market taking 20% of the malware.  Yet we have heard of 
> less than a handful.  Again it's so rare that it reaches the mainstream press.  
>
>
> People that want to sound knowledgeable about malware and sound serious about it 
> use Windows.  There is a lot to know!  It's good to show-off about how much you 
> know but always the intel these people have is old because they are always 
> trying to catch-up with the ingenuity of malware creators.  People who are just 
> serious about stability and security and want to stay ahead of the game tend to 
> use Gnu&Linux (or Bsd, or even Mac).  
>
>
> Regards from
> Tom :)

Two other factors that help Gnu/Linux and BSD in particular is that they
are often installed and used by more knowledgeable users and probably
more importantly is that most desktop Linux users can find almost all
the software they need in relatively secure repositories maintained by
the distros. Mac, I believe, comes with a suite of software aimed at the
most common desktop needs already installed.

Another factor with Linux and BSD (include the Mac) is no typical setup
exists, every distro has their own ideas of what makes a good distro and
how it should be done. Thus there are fewer common attack vectors that
all Linux distros have, primarily at the kernel level. Above the kernel
level you have significant differences between Red Hat/Fedora, Debian,
Ubuntu, openSUSE/SUSE, etc and add in the number of different
environments. Thus an exploit that targets KDE (or any other desktop)
probably will not have much affect on other desktops simply because they
may not have the required files installed or even need the files.

In Windows you have the situation where users range from extremely
knowledgeable to total incompetence, compound this with there is
essentially a single OS for each version of Window. This allows crackers
a wealth of very similar targets with less effort. Add that some the
users are utterly clueless about computer security and you have a
situation were attacks will be successful enough for the crackers to
justify their efforts.

-- 
Jay Lozier
jslozier@gmail.com

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