Re: Most secure mainstream OS? (was Re: QuickTime 7.1.6: Java vulnerability Fix)
- From: Jolly Roger <jollyroger@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 22:49:15 GMT
On 2007-05-02 17:01:53 -0500, PC Guy <pcguy@xxxxxxxxxxx> said:
On Wed, 02 May 2007 21:57:11 GMT, Jolly Roger <jollyroger@xxxxxxxx>
wrote:
On 2007-05-02 16:48:21 -0500, PC Guy <pcguy@xxxxxxxxxxx> said:
If you define "common" narrowly enough, then you can make a case that
OS X is the most secure common desktop operating system, because you can
narrow "common" all the way down to "Windows and Mac OS," but at that
point it seems a little disingenuous to say that Mac OS is the most
secure operating system rather than simply saying that Mac OS is more
secure than Windows.
Which itself would be erroneous. Windows is more secure than OS X.
In some ways - in others not. I'd argue that the ways in which Windows
is not as secure as Mac OS X *far* outweigh the ways in which it is
more secure.
Can you provide some examples?
Oh wait... are you actually suggesting that Windows is more secure than
Mac OS X in *every* imaginable way? LOL... You're funny.
I did no such thing.
Yeah, I can provide examples, but to be honest, I'm kind of tired right
now, and I have a long drive ahead of me, so it will have to wait until
later when I'm home from work. In the mean time, if you are lucky,
someone else may pipe up. Or you know, you could just Google around a
bit and learn a little about Darwin / BSD and how it compares with
Windows - that is, if you are truly interested in an answer.
Oh I am truely interested in the answer. It always seems to come down
to "OS X is UNIX". Which doesn't really say anything about why it's
more secure.
Some just off the top of my head:
* In Windows, lots of applications don't work correctly if you don't run them from a user account with administrative privileges. In Mac OS X, that is an *extremely* rare occurrence.
* In Windows, there is only one registry, and any program can modify the registry, affecting other programs, for all users. Worse damage to the Registry can render a Windows system unbootable. In contrast, each user account in Mac OS X has its own preferences folder to which no other users have access, and even if the entire preferences folder is wiped clean, the operating system boots up fine.
* In Windows, most applications must be run as administrator, are installed by complex installer programs that have access to write to any part of the file system, and modify files in critical system directories. Uninstalling Windows applications, likewise, necessitates modification of files in critical system directories. In contrast, most Mac applications are simple drag-and-drop installs, do not need administrator privileges to work, and do not have access (or need to) modify critical system files. Also most Mac applications may be uninstalled simply by dragging the application to the trash and emptying the trash.
* Even non-admin users in Windows are able to modify critical system files. Ever try logging in without admin privileges and seeing if you can delete things in C:\Program Files\ or C:\Windows\? Try it sometime (back up first, of course). In Mac OS X this is simply not possible - non-admin user accounts are truly barred from harming critical files in the operating system. And even admin users are prompted each and every time a program attempts to modify important files.
* Windows' RPC reliance - nuff said!
There are lots more, but I'm short on time, so these are just a few off the top of my head. This is nowhere near an all-inclusive list.
--
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JR
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