F-Secure flaw opens door to intruders

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I'll answer your quick questions

Why can't you just answer a simple question?

I can.

What the hell does market share have to do with vulnerability to viruses?

In this case, a lot. The question was posed:
tell me please just which Unix distro is 'prone to viruses.

So the attempt is to compare virus attacks in one OS (Unix) with virus attacks in another (Windows) and then form some conclusion about which one has better security. That would be fine if everything else was equal but it isn't. Usage patterns are completely different for these 2 OSs. Considering that virus's need security weaknesses to attack and by FAR the biggest security weakness on any machine is a newbie end user, I think that market share and TYPE of market share is extremely relevant. Viruses have almost always spread by getting a user to open a virus infected file on a new machine. In the past it was through infected floppies. Now it is through infected emails and IM. Most Unix installs in the past were on back end servers that very rarely saw ANYBODY log in and when a user did log in, it probably wasn't to insert an infected floppy or open an email attachment. Since people didn't use Unix servers in a way that facilitated virus transmission, it is hardly surprising that there have been very few reports of Unix viruses.

What OSs were in use by newbie end users? DOS, Windows, and Mac. Which OSs were most hit by viruses? DOS, Windows, and Mac. Coincidence?

Anyway, I'll answer the original question about Unix being affected by viruses by referring you to this website: http://vx.netlux.org/vl.php

Posted by: NonZealot   Posted on: 02/13/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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