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Debian Etch VS Windows Vista?

User discussion about Debian Development, Debian Project News and Announcements. Not for support questions.
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s3a
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#21 Post by s3a »

The fact that you need to enter an administrative password to make system changes (you'd have to enter your password to allow a virus to ruin your computer) along with the fact that Linux isn't as targeted in the malware zone not to mention that you CAN take the same extensive precautions a Windows user would take (antivirus etc), Debian is MUCH MORE SECURE.

By the way, if a hacker wanted to hurt as much people as he/she can, he/she would target Windows. But if Linux was the most used OS, it still would be too secure to break into, unless the user is an idiot and types their password to allow execution of a virus.

digthemdeep
Posts: 4
Joined: 2008-08-04 23:02

#22 Post by digthemdeep »

I think you should also consider the application models commonly used in each. Windows is a hotbed of fundamentally insecure technologies like ActiveX. Debian Etch has followed a server-oriented development path wherein the security philosophy encompasses the OS and the GNU application suite.

Windows security depends critically on user competence. Every new user tries shareware once, and then it's over. GNU has about everything most users could ever want, including all the little helpers like weather and hardware applets, no need for shareware. If I picked an OS for my mother it would be Linux.

Articles that discuss Windows vs Linux security always focus on server models, but Windows desktops are totally different animals. On the other hand Debian Etch is easily both a server and a desktop. If you want server-level security on a desktop, Etch is it.

kruk
Posts: 10
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#23 Post by kruk »

if i were asked to create a linux virus, i could make it run in user mode, without huge rights, and monitor passord typing. In gnome or kde, this is done oftenly, even to correct date ou time... Once this harmless virus has root password, it can even operate without logging. At this moment, security performance between linux/debian and MS*.* are equal.

The main entrance in windows is the user behavior, as much as in linux... I bet the behaviour of guys from this forum makes linux by far the safest system. But this is not a rule.

By the way, I use iptables a lot, and i miss an application/module control of net access, something like Zonealarm does in windows...

sir fer
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Joined: 2008-09-10 18:49
Location: Auckland

#24 Post by sir fer »

khelben1979 wrote:No, I myself has been running Debian since -99. I think it's a good system and the user friendliness has improved dramatically, especially with the new graphical installer which was part of the Etch release, really nice!
Gotta agree there...I'm loving Etch at the moment and am really looking forward to Lenny from what I've seen of testing and beta2 releases...Debian FTW ;o)

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julian67
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#25 Post by julian67 »

kruk wrote:if i were asked to create a linux virus, i could make it run in user mode, without huge rights, and monitor passord typing.
Care to explain how you propose to capture keystrokes without root rights?

You might be able to capture clipboard contents but anything typed after su or gksu isn't available that way.

If you want to capture a root password you're going to need root access in user space or be doing something nasty in kernel space (i.e you've loaded your own keyboard driver) or be hijacking syscalls.....any of which means you must already have gained root access. To hijack application syscalls you need to be able to read /dev/kmem and /dev/mem....which can't be read by anyone except root. To completely subvert syscalls by writing your own you again need to be able to read /dev/mem and /dev/kmem....which require root access.

I don't think you can do it unless you've rooted the computer anyway.

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mauser1891
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Location: Western WA, USA

Vi$ta vs Debian 4.0 GNU/Linux...

#26 Post by mauser1891 »

Hello Folks,

This laptop HP/Compaq C551NR, started with Vi$taHE. But as the year progressed. The partitions shifted more, and more to Debian.
Now Vi$taHE only exists on the install dvd. And Debian is the only resident os on the hd.
The most predomniate wallpaper on my desktop states...
"Its All About The Freedom"
And thats all I need to say. :D
Thank You,
Mauser1891

AMD A6-3400M 8G DDR3 Samsung EVO 120 powered Gateway laptop
FX-8350, 7970, 32G DDR3, 8G RamDisk/SSD/SSHD/HD, Win 8.1 Pro desktop

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ka3
Posts: 552
Joined: 2007-07-22 21:34
Location: /dev/tty1

#27 Post by ka3 »

Let me just say this. An operating system shouldn't need 1GB of RAM just to function . . . when you add in the security programs that make Vista even come close to comparing with Debian, you're up to over 1GB for the base system *alone*. Debian, I hardly use more than 1GB, ever.

As for security . . . well, I'd trust Debian more readily than Vista. Simply because I have more faith in open source developers than Microsoft developers. Why?

The whole designing and coding system that Microsoft uses is bogus. Every team assigned to a part of the operating system or program only gets to see that part, so no one can assemble the entire source. How does that help? Almost all bugs are found by peer review (well, major bugs anyhow . . .); therefore that level of limitation is retarded. Maybe it worked a long time ago . . . but it ain't workin' now.

With open-source software, I don't have to worry. Any major security loopholes or problems will be found pretty quickly. "Many eyes make bugs shallow". I've got more faith in the Mozilla team than the I.E. team to make a secure web browser. More faith in the Linux kernel developers than Microsoft's developers.

Linux is a multiuser system from the ground up. Period. Windows has undergone so many revisions that it's not worth it. I trust a command-line system with a GUI more than a GUI system with a command-line.

My two cents. ;)
- KA3

"Patience. Never had much time for it."

I claim no responsibility for misguiding information, speling errors or grammer error.

Intel 1.67GHz T5450 Dual-Core, 3GB DDR2 RAM, 320GB HDD.

@ndreX!
Posts: 13
Joined: 2007-07-17 17:39

#28 Post by @ndreX! »

IsaacKuo wrote:Debian Etch is the most secure Debian variant, and the (slightly) less secure Ubuntu won a recent three way contest between Mac, Vista, and Ubuntu in a security contest (Mac and Vista were broken into, Ubuntu wasn't).
Can somebody tell him that UBUNTU it's based on DEBIAN.
Thanks.

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jtodd
Posts: 457
Joined: 2008-06-04 01:24
Location: Michigan

#29 Post by jtodd »

@ndreX! wrote:
IsaacKuo wrote:Debian Etch is the most secure Debian variant, and the (slightly) less secure Ubuntu won a recent three way contest between Mac, Vista, and Ubuntu in a security contest (Mac and Vista were broken into, Ubuntu wasn't).
Can somebody tell him that UBUNTU it's based on DEBIAN.
Thanks.
He knows.
Debian GNU/Linux Sid | Intel Celeron 2.2GHz | 224mb RAM | 27GB HD | 320GB Ext. HD | dwm

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