linux security

[M. Hornung]

On Wed, 22 Jan 2003 at 14:56, Robin Battey wrote:

|Linux boxes are the most commonly hacked systems, yes.  It's the same as 
|usual -- a Windows system does a decent job if you don't know what you're 
|doing, and a Unix system does a better job if you *do* know what you're 
|doing and a horrible job if you don't.  Unix is user-friendly, it's just a 
|lot more picky about who it considers a friend ;-)

Wrong.  At UW Windows boxes are our enemy.  They're most dangerous in the
hands of people who don't know how to (or don't have the time to) properly
use/administer them.  If you're an administrator and you think to yourself 
"I'm safe because I'm using XYZ operating system" then you're already 
headed down the wrong path.

Both Linux and Unix are better off, security-wise, the more the
administrator does to lock it down.  The difference is that Windows is
highly "open" and "feature rich" by default, whereas Linux distros are
increasingly getting installed in a less "open" way.

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