found drama

Simonkiker on Slashdot posts on Viruses and Market Dominance – Myth or Fact?. Now several orders removed, we arrive at:

So there are far fewer viruses for Mac OS X and Linux. It’s true that those two operating systems do not have monopoly numbers, though in some industries they have substantial numbers of users. But even if Linux becomes the dominant desktop computing platform, and Mac OS X continues its growth in businesses and homes, these Unix-based OS’s will never experience all of the problems we’re seeing now with email-borne viruses and worms in the Microsoft world. Why?

Granneman goes on to break down how Windows and Windows-based apps are practically hard-wired to mess up your system. This isn’t quite the sweeping “user-friendliness-equals-massive-security-hole” accusation that it could be … but it does rub that way in the short term. More to the point though, he emphasizes the root/administrator difference and how it’s imperative for the Windows world to develop a stricter analog. This alone would be stopping short — but would at least be a good start.

Ultimately, though? “Social engineering.”

About Rob Friesel