[Hidden-tech] Random crashes in XP?

[Robert Heller]

At Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:33:16 -0400 Scott Reed <sreed at avacoda.com> wrote:

> 
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> 
> Tom,
> 
> A massive switch to Apple products is unlikely to resolve this issue. 
> While MS products are rife with vulnerabilities which is 90% of the 
> problem, it is also the case that Apple's smaller installed base makes 
> it a less fruitful target for hackers. Once a significant portion of the 
> market switches to Linux and Mac OS, my guess is hackers will come after 
> us just as rabidly as they have been harassing all the unfortunate MS 
> users. On the other hand, I fully agree that folks whose business allows 
> them and who can afford Apple products, should switch and enjoy the 
> relative peace of the non-MS world while they can.

One data point to consider: Although it is true that Microsoft Windows
is on like 90% of the *desktops*, Microsoft claims less than 30% of the
*servers*.  Actually that is specificly *web* servers, other types of
servers cover a much larger percentage (DNS and Mail servers in
partitular). Although hackers *have* *tried* to attack UNIX and Linux
based servers, they have not been very successfull (and yes, the
hackers do go after servers, but have only really been successful with
MS-Windows servers).  There are several reasons.  Yes, people who
operate these servers are more tech savy, but mostly it is in the
nature of how the operating system(s) these servers work -- UNIX is
just plain more imune to the kinds of things that easily break
MS-Windows, mostly do to the way it is organized and how processes and
priviledges and access to the hardware, and so on are arranged -- that
is, its 'protection model'.  MS-Windows was born on a totally
unprotected base system (MS-DOS, aka QDOS, aka CP/M).  Yes, modern
version of MS-Windows are no longer based on MS-DOS, but for downward
compatibility reasons NT's (originally good) protection model is broken
in various ways. Another big part of why UNIX, Linux, (and MacOSX,
which is also a flavor of [open source] UNIX under-the-hood), is that
most/all of the code is open source -- open source software tends to
get its security holes fixed *before* the hackers find them.  'With
enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow' -- Eric Raymond, I believe.  It
turns out than a modern operating system is far too complex to keep
closed source and also keep it up-to-date WRT security problems.  Even
SUN finally gave up: Solaris is now open source -- it was the only way
SUN could have any hope of keeping it secure.

> 
>   Scott
> 
> Tom / Reelife Productions wrote:
> 
> <tiresome dobee notice snipped>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > Although, I usually loath the tired and annoying apple vs. microsoft 
> > nose-in-the-air-debates, i  think this is an appropriate place to 
> > mention, that in the 18 years that I've been using apple products, I 
> > have never owned or used virus protection software and, more 
> > importantly, never had a virus on any one of my computers.
> >
> > The main reason i mention this is because I always read and hear about 
> > how much  time, money and heartache goes into virus protection, etc. 
> >  it's really debilitating for small businesses and seems very 
> >  unfortunate that people have had to struggle with this over the years....
> >
> > my .20 cents.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Tom Adams
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>                                

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