Another Alternative View

[MidnightCowboy]

I first came across this site some time ago because it contains some of the best reviews and install tutorials for Linux I've seen. I was browsing there again today and came across this which I'd somehow missed before.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/linux-security.html

I can identify with a lot of the comments made here about Windows security and others might find it interesting, even if they disagree!

[wdhpr]

Quotes from For-mentioned link

But the system remains intact. Most configurations cannot be read, let alone changed by ordinary users. Only the admin, called root can do that. Or users that have been granted the right privileges, using the mechanism called sudo. But even then, it requires interaction and providing the right password.

This is true however many tweaks and popular software installs require sudo access

I have not really elaborated on these, as they vary from distro to distro, but there are all kinds of tools and utilities available in Linux distributions, which make the system subversion more difficult. To name a few, there's SELinux, AppArmor and many others.

I looked and these were preloaded with Ubuntu's 10.10 distro

The only sensible application to this would be to spare your Windows friends from malware in transit, which you would be immune to, but they won't. However, this can be solved in many ways, without an anti-virus, including not forwarding junk mail and not having any friends in the first place.

I think we can all agree with this.

Cheers
Wdhpr

[Taurus]

Originally Posted by MidnightCowboy

I can identify with a lot of the comments made here about Windows security and others might find it interesting, even if they disagree!

Very enlightening link and comments. Thanks for posting it MC.

[Sope]

I've also been subscribing to Dedoimedo RSS for some time now.
I find his approach refreshing and his technical articles very balanced.
Highly recommended.
Incidently, he also mentions Gizmo's Freeware in his "Greatest Sites" list.

[Anupam]

Someone from our Linux forum had suggested Dedoimedo, and I like the site a lot. That time I was looking for a Linux distribution to play with, and this site helped me a lot with reviews of various distros. I have it subscribed in my RSS feed. Recommended site.

[MidnightCowboy]

"However, this can be solved in many ways, without an anti-virus, including not forwarding junk mail and not having any friends in the first place".

Yes, well thought out, well written and with a great sense of humor
I find this style makes learning new things much more enjoyable.

[wdhpr]

I gathered that.

[Concerned User]

Yes, let me tell you a little secret. Come closer. That's it. You don't need an anti-virus in Windows, either! Boom! There you go. Now, the simplicity of this statement is too much to bear for most Windows users, especially people indoctrinated to believe the only thing keeping Hell away is the one little program called anti-virus.

...I would like to try this out someday (no antivirus installed)....maybe on a virtual machine or something....But he is right.....

[Jojoyee]

A good quote and sounds meaningful to me.

I always like to "take a photo" of what it looks like originally and if a working photo looks ugly by that one little program, I will then replace it with the original photo. And replacement of the photo rarely happens to me since I seldom dip the photo into the dirty water.