Quote:
Originally Posted by darryl
Whilst Linux is a "safer" operating system than Windows it is neither completely safe nor immune.
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At a fundamental level, it is the philosophy behind the software that makes Linux safer. This is for a few reasons.
First, the code is not secret. That means that many security flaws are quickly discovered, because many eyes can see them. Compare this to Windows/OS X which believe obscurity equals protection; they are counting on the fact that because you can't see the code, it will be harder to find the flaws that are there. Especially with Windows, one can see how this "security through obscurity" plays out in the real world.
Second, the code is available for anyone to fix. So patches are created almost instantly and plug holes, often before the public is even aware they exist. Compare the response time of the Linux patch to a typical Windows response of "we'll have a patch ready in a week or two to fix this issue." So instead of hearing that our systems are going to be vulnerable for weeks or months, and being completely at the mercy of one company for that timing, many are discovering that not only is a patch already available for this flaw, they may have already installed it!
This doesn't mean I run Linux. I'm a Mac guy for the productivity tools and the ease-of-use experience I get there. But I firmly believe that Linux is one of the most secure systems for the two reasons listed above, and if I were to run a server as opposed to a workstation, I'd be all over Linux. Nothing short of heaven is perfect, but Linux's security through openness has been a winning formula for years and will continue to be so.