Amazingly dumb remark about Linux

[Toby Fisher]

On Thu, 30 May 2002, Adam Myrow wrote:

> On Thu, 30 May 2002, Gregory Nowak wrote:
>
> > I agree with what you say. However, if I understand you correctly, why
> > do you want viruses for Linux to exist?
>
> I think he believes that only popular operating systems have viruses.
> This is so boneheaded!  Only insecure operating systems like Windows have
> viruses.  Sure, viruses could be written for Linux, but most would require
> that you run them as root, which any sensable person won't do.  The
> problem with Windows is that everybody has the equivilent of root power in
> the home versions that are most common.  Also, Microsoft made their email
> clients capable of executing VB script and such which opened a huge can of
> worms.  To me, those are the fundamental problems with windows not
> counting Microsoft being nearly a monopoly.  Any user can trash their
> system without trying.  In Linux, you don't trash the system unless you
> spend all your time logged in as root.  As long as you are a normal user,
> you can't destroy your own system through a wrong command.

No, but there was a shell script written which acted as a virus, or worm.
It was only written to prove a theory in a lab, but it managed to escape,
oops.  Also, an insecure unix system can be potentially much more
damaging, just look at Code Red.

Cheers.

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Toby Fisher	Email: toby at g0ucu.freeserve.co.uk
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