Microsoft is dead!

You tell mean old "Microsoft Minstrel" Mushroom, Bill Gates must have given Minstrel stock options in a trust fund that kick in when M$ hits 100 bucks again.

 

Thanks, mushroom, but if you really believe that SuSE is invulnerable, you're definitely the one who is delusional.

And I agree, Chachi... I am in no hurry toinstall SP-2... any "patch" that big (it's almost a new OS) is bound to have problems... I can wait.

Using the same logic, I waited a year to upgrade from 3.1 to 95, 95 to 98, and 98 to XP...

I like Microsoft products and yes I even admire Bill Gates but I have no intention of being a beta tester...

 

well if you "liked" MS when you were using 9x, then you must love XP. That is almost like going from a Pinto to a Cadillac

 

You do realise that it was part joke and part serious, in the 2+ years that I have been running SuSE Linux I have not heard of any one anywhere in the world running Linux being infected by a virus.

I do agree that many problems are as you said.

 

This is actually not a true statement. Apple has about 3% of computer sales per year. This doesn't mean that 3% of people use macs.

a) Macs last longer and as a result people don't have to upgrade so often. I know quite a few people still using Mac Classics :0! Macs have good resale value as well, which has led to a good second hand market.
b) A lot of owners of PCs will buy multiples because they have one for their kid to play games on and one 'good' PC to do serious stuff on or something similar. All because it is too dangerous to let kids onto the 'good' PC.

Some estimate it at closer to 10%. It's still not a lot, but it isn't quite as low as 3%.

And regarding the security thing.

from http://www.macdailynews.com/comments.php?id=P2444_0_1_0

But what does it matter what others think anyway? As long as I have the computer setup of my dreams (a 12" Powerbook + 20" Cinema Display), what do I care about the troubles of the average PC user?

I've got a PC, purely to see what PC users have to put up with when they view my website. I only owned the thing for a week, then tried to update to SP2 and the ENTIRE SYSTEM wouldn't even start up anymore.. something about an incompatible motherboard - this quite simply would not happen on Macs due to the fact that one company controls both hardware and software. Anyway, I'm back on SP1 and the computer store has recommended I DON'T try and install SP2 again.. so I won't.

 

Daamsie, great post, Shawn has been telling us these things for quite a while and some of us are starting to believe in MAC and Linux in a big way.

Microsoft is operating on smoke and mirrors and will discount the OS just to try to maintain market share.

Their days are numbered as far as having a 90% market share on desktop OS.

Great post, thanks for the input.

 

The bigger Firefox gets..the more the security attacks will switch across..and whilst i believe the open source allows for greater software interoperability...so it points the way to all intruders too.
Did you all catch the latest firefox SECURITY update patch??

http://www.mozilla.org/press/mozilla-2004-10-01-02.html

regards GEM (IE6)

 

why should I make a virus for linux? no one use it (almost)

Viruses and spywarez on windows make othe big companies rich! So do you think they wanna lose their pot of gold? (Lets make virus everyday and antidote to it. it will give us fortunes)

 

Remember it is still the OS that is being attacked and the browser is only the avenue of attack.
For an attack to succeed there must be an exploitable vulnerability in the OS and or user as well as a means of delivery.
Remove the means of delivery and educate the user and the problem is almost gone, move to an OS with good internal security such as linux or mac and it's all but totaly gone.

I have never met a Linux or Mac user that has ever been infected by a computer virus and I have yet to meet a windows user (surfer) who has not been infected with some thing.

I just came across this

Full story: http://www.linuxworld.com/story/46891.htm?DE=1

 

Then you just haven't been listening. I have said here and elsewhere several times, including this thread, that I have NEVER been infected by a virus and that's using DOS and Windows over the years, never MAC or Linux.

And daamsie, there is NO operating system that is invulnerable. If there were sufficient numbers, or if there ever ARE sufficient numbers of people using any other OS, the virus writers will turn their eyes on whatever looms large and make no mistake about it -- they will crack MAC and Linux if they choose to do so. In fact they already HAVE cracked both... just not very often because there isn't enough interest in either to make it worth their while.

 

Lol, I never said that it was invulnerable! You may want to re-read my post.

I only pointed to an article that points out it is inherently 'much more secure' than Windows. It's a myth that the ONLY reason OSX and Linux are more secure is due to their low marketshare. Sure it helps, but it needs to pointed out that the operating system is actually considered safer (note: NOT invulnerable) as well.

 

And common sense and prophylactic measures are inherently more secure than any OS... those operating systems may have additional built-in security measures but they can and will be hacked, and then you too will be left to rely on the kinds of measures Windows users are already using.

You here is generic, by the way, not personal -- I'm referring to the not uncommon claim by people in forums that they don't need firewalls or antivirus software because they are running MAC OS / Linux / insert any other OS you like here.

 

I had one... nope I had few. They main problem aside from the attack is SUPPORT.

 

Shawn uses MAC and he has mentioned that he uses Norton AV also Minstrel.

Some other MAC users on this forum were using NO AV, I got on Twister Mac's back about that fact in other threads and he said he would look into running AV in the future.

So experts like Shawn do run AV with their MAC OS.

There are not that many experts around, even among forum members.

 

NO OS is 100% Secure. Microsoft may have problems but when Linux is as hot as Windows I will bet $6000 that Linux will have tons of security flaws / problems Windows has. Microsoft is stepping up on Security with the upcoming Longhorn OS. It's going to have better security then Linux will ever. I've done lots of reading and research on Longhorn Security and it looks very impressive.

 

Hey Jeff did you hear that M$ was going to change the name of Longhorn to "LongonBugs&Patches", it is a more descriptive title for the software.

Microsoft is in big trouble not only with the OS code, but they have a nasty public relations problem on their hands that they will not overcome even if the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders lived in the Microsoft Headquarters building.

This time they are in real hot water (Linux and MAC) and the temperature is rising quick.

 

Well I did not hear that but I was refering to more the security side of Longhorn. There is a complete new system in place to detect / block that area of hacking until a patch is out. I think it will out beat Linux security. I know everyone may say "I don't trust MS" but really I really think MS does care for security as there losing and want to gain the marketshare again.

 

NO ONE has said any OS 100% secure! BUT it's lazy rethoric to say 'well, IF they were popular, they'd have the same problems'. Sure, they would have a few more security problems, BUT they would still have less than Windows. Windows is simply not a very safe operating system.

and re: Longhorn. How long have people been talking about it now? 2 years? And how much longer will it be? Another 2 years? While MS has been talking away, Apple has brought out at least two major upgrades to their OS + a third one coming out in the next couple of months.

It seems to me, every time Apple brings out another, MS realises they have MORE catching up to do, so they postpone Longhorn even more

MS is going nowhere, but hopefully people will realise they have far better alternatives.

 

Well in MacOS 9 I had nothing but crashes with a PowerPC G4. I think the systems lacked much needed memory but MacOS is by far the OS that lacks features. MacOS 9 had features that Windows 3.1 had and 95 had. I love Apple but OS 9 had some major problems. I keep my systems in good shape and have not ever had a attack or virus since 2 years ago. Microsoft's OS's need lots of testing vs. MacOS as MacOS is pretty small compared to Windows

 

OS9 is a thing of the past. Time to upgrade your arguments to the 21st century. OSX is where things are currently at!

I too maintain my system carefully - regular clones of my harddrive (using the excellent and free Carbon Copy Cloner), repairs of disk permissions after installs, a good hardware firewall, prebinding, etc.. Maintenance is vital on any computer. I barely have a crash on this computer and usually they are resolved easily. At this point, I know how to look after a Mac - it seems far easier than looking after a PC. I've never had a virus or any form of adware/spyware (on my Mac). I don't have a virus checker on my computer. Too many stories of it causing system instability at this stage and not enough motivation to warrant the expense. My mail server scans emails for viruses, which I think is good because I don't want to pass on anything to unknowing PC users. I can't remember the last time I saw a .exe .scr .pif .whatever attachment