SECURE YOUR COMPUTER -- USE LINUX

     Linux and Unix users, this includes Mac OS X, say that their operating system is more secure than Windows.  Windows users say it's because most people use Windows, and that Windows is a bigger target for the people that like to spread malware.

     According to Wikipedia.org "In September 2008 Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer admitted that 60% of web-servers run Linux versus 40% that run Windows Web Server."  Here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux.  That means that the main target should be Linux based servers.  Another wikipedia page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_platform, says that Google's web-servers use a custom version of Linux.  So why isn't 60% of the internet and especially Google crashing because of malware?

     Because they aren't the biggest target.  Police will tell you that the main homes that thief's break into, are the homes that are the least secure.  Malware used to be mostly about pranks.  Now it's more about identity theft, stealing passwords and credit card account information, and using an unknowing victims computer in a botnet.  Like the thief's breaking into people's home it's criminal activity for gain.  Windows is the biggest target because it's inherently the most vulnerable. It's because Windows was not ORIGINALLY built with the need for security in mind.

     Windows was not built for networking nor for multi-user usage.  It was originally designed as a stand alone, single user platform.  Unix which Linux is a clone of, was designed for networking and multi-user usage.   Also it was built with "permissions" in mind.  On Windows 95, any user could do what any other user could do.  With Windows XP, Windows became a little more secure by having an "Admin" level and lower levels of permissions for other users.  Administartor or Admin meant that you had total control of Windows.  The problem was that all users by default were set to "Admin" level.  So if you were logged in with Admin level control and someone broke into your system through the internet, they could have Admin or total control of your system.  Or if your system was infected with malware, while you were logged in with Admin level access, the malware could have total control to do anything in your system.

     Windows Vista and 7 have greatly improved security.  One way that security is improved is by making the default user setting set below Admin.  Also users are asked if they really want to do certain system changes and often asked for a password to confirm it.   However Windows is still less secure than Linux.  No operating system is 100% secure or safe.  It's a just the same question as in home security.  Which is more secure and which is less secure.  Are you more secure than your neighbor so that the burglar will leave you alone and head to the guy next door?  Well if you are using Linux and the guy next door is using any version of Windows, you are certainly more secure than he is.

     One example is from the CanSecWest 2008, PWN2OWN 2008 contest.  Here's a link to an article about it:  Mac OS X Hacked - Vista SP1 Hacked - Ubuntu Linux Survives Unscathed. In case you don't go to the article it tells, during the PWN2OWN 2008 hackers were challenged to break into computers running Mac OS X (Unix), Windows Vista SP1, and Ubuntu 7.10 (Linux).  OS X was the first to fall.  Vista was the second to be broken into.  Ubuntu 7.10 was never hacked. 

     Now Windows COULD be made to be made MORE secure than any other operating system.  But I believe it would take a major restart of the operating system.  Microsoft doesn't want to do that because of "Legacy".  Legacy refers to making Windows compatible with older versions of hardware and older versions of Windows.  Microsoft wants to keep Legacy so they don't lose customers using older software and hardware.  However it's part of what makes Windows more vulnerable.  It makes Windows more unstable it and less secure.

     There is much more I could go into about why Linux/Unix more secure but I'll just post links to these other articles:

Why Linux Is More Secure Than Windows

Windows v Linux security: the real facts

Security Report: Windows vs Linux 

Why Linux is More Secure Than Windows

Note:  The first and fourth articles are not the same article even though the titles are the same. 

     To conclude this I'll tell you my own personal experience.  I have used IBM compatible computers since DOS 4.  I've used Windows since Windows 3.1.  I used to make a living fixing Windows problems.  On at least one occasion, I've been installing Windows XP, and before finishing getting everything set up (installing firewall, anti-virus, etc), I've gotten a worm (a type of Malware).  I've used Windows 7 for as long as eight months before it showed signs of getting hacked into through the internet.  I've been running versions of Linux for about six years now and have never shown signs of being hacked.    As I've said in a previous article, we live in a day and age of SERIOUS malware and SERIOUS hacking.  The result of being hacked or infected by malware could simply be an annoyance such as having my wallpaper changed into something I find offensive.  However it could be, being tried and convicted of trafficking child porn after my system being hacked and made part of a botnet used for storing or transfering child porn.    How would you prove that you didn't know that material was on your computer?  See my next article:  "THE COST VS BENEFITS OF WINDOWS AND UBUNTU/LINUX."

The Loss of Steve Jobs

I haven't been able to post for too long, because I've been snowed under by too many other responsibilities, but I had to force time to make this post. 

    Steve Jobs had been involved with computers about as long as I have.  I was never rich and famous like him, but when I first got involved with computers he probably wasn't rich or famous either.  The first "personal" computer I ever laid my hands on was an Apple II.  The guy that brought it into computer class told us the story of how it was made by these two guys that started in a garage.

     In those days there was a lot of people doing stuff in their garages.  You could walk into computer stores and buy programs that came in zip-lock bags with a dot matrix printed label.  The programs were usually either on 5 1/4 inch floppies or on a cassette tape.  Apple II's had 51/4 floppy drives and Commodore 64's had 5 1/4 floppy drives and cassette decks called a Datasette.

     The point is that everybody involved in personal computers was pretty much just starting out.  No one knew where it was going or if or where it might end.  But there were two men who stood out more than anyone else and that was Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.  They each had there own vision for the future and they pressed on no matter what obstacle, good or bad.

      In those early days it was mostly a divide between Apple people and Commodore 64 people.  Just like now you hear "Windows is garbage, Mac rules!", or "Mac is garbage, Windows rules!", in those days it was Apple II vs C64.  Apple II had an expandable case with internal adapter slots and C64's was cheaper.  I went the cheaper route and bought a C64.

     Years later I was given an old Mac by a customer and I was intrigued by it.  I was doing Windows support since Windows needed more support than Mac.  I explored this old, all in one Mac, with it's tiny built in black and white screen, with great curiosity.  The OS (operating system) was an alien world to me, but I could see the genius behind it.  I could see why Mac lovers were Mac lovers.  I gave that Mac to a family that couldn't afford a computer of their own but years later, after retiring from doing computer support, bought myself an iBook.  I became a Mac lover.

      After getting a Mac I started paying attention to the Mac world.  I read an article ( I don't remember which magazine it was in), that talked about how Steve Jobs could be so passionate about even the small things, like how an icon looked.  He paid attention to the smallest details and that attention to detail was what brought back the flare and beauty to the Mac OS environment.

       It was once said that if the Queen of England hired Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to each build her a dining table, that Steve Jobs would hire the world's greatest carpenters and buy the finest and most expensive wood.  He would tell the carpenters to only use hand tools and no electrical tools.  He would have them use wood pegs to join the wood together instead of nails to make sure the joins never loosened.  He would tell them to make sure they do a great job no matter how long it takes, but it has to be perfect.  When it was done it would be one of the most expensive tables ever built, worthy of a museum and it would last forever.

       It was said that Bill Gates would spy on Steve's workers and buy the cheapest materials like particle board, plywood, and fake wood laminate.  He would show them a picture of Steve's table and tell them just get it as close as possible without making it look exactly the same.  He would tell them to just get it done fast and as long as it's close enough it's OK.  The workers would use nails, staples, wood glue, etc. When it was done it would look like a table you'd use to play cards on in your garage.  You would be able see the glue where it had spilled out from under the laminate, and if you weren't careful you'd get splinters from it.  Every time you played cards on it, you would have to stop in the middle of the game to put one of the table legs back on.

       There may be some exaggerations in this, but it a good example of how people saw Steve Jobs.  He was a man who was passionate about anything he did and obsessed with getting it done in a great way.  There was no "good enough"  for the man, there was only perfection.

        I have since moved away from Macs to what I call a "poor man's Mac", an IBM compatible with Ubuntu installed, but I'm still inspired from my Mac days.  Even when I customize my desktop I tend to remember the look of OS X, and I admit my desktop often tends to look very OS X'ish.

        To some people Steve Jobs was like a computer world messiah, and to some he was thought of as a Bill Gates in sheep's clothing. However you saw him he made an impact on the computer world that hopefully will never be forgotten.

         I'll miss you Steve.