Quote:
Originally Posted by Moonraker
I mostly had trouble with installing drivers -- a very simple task in Windows.
My life was made **** with having to type strange text strings at a command prompt only to be told "permission denied" or that I needed to run the app as a "super user".
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*Ahem* allow me to channel Bruce Schneier for a moment.
All systems are trade offs. One of the most important trade offs we make is security vs. ease of use. Secure systems are less user friendly because the system makes us prove that we are who we claim to be and verifies that we have permission to do what we want to do.
On Linux, users are encouraged to run as "normal" users (i.e. not as a super user). This increases security because as a normal user, I cannot do something like, oh, run a trojan program that hooks into the OS. But when we need to run something as a super user - like installing a driver - I have to be verified first, which results in more hassle.
On Windows, users are encouraged to run as administrator (i.e. a super user). So it's much easier to install a driver. The trade off is less security.
Obviously most people trade security for ease of use. I believe that is because people are not held responsible for the damage that their insecure systems do.
If a law was passed that made people responsible for what their insecure computers do (ex: send out spam), people would make different trade offs.