Security: Unpatched and Doing Fine?
It's been a year since the Honeynet project published the results of their study, which concluded that Linux systems can last much longer than Windows systems unpatched on the Internet. I am sure that to some extent this remains true, but I wonder when I see things such as statistics that claim the highest percentage of attacks are seen on Linux systems and the number two reason they are attacked is because they are unpatched.
This has long been a sore spot for me in the Linux world, not because Linux systems are "unsafe", but because patching (not just for enterprises, but even for home users) on Linux is a pain. Some versions are easier than others, but simply trying to get the patches and ensure that you don't break anything is usually a challenge. And I don't see it getting easier, either.
Just to prove my point, I took a gander at some patching methods for several different platforms:
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
- 1408 reads
- PDF version
More in Tux Machines
- Highlights
- Front Page
- Latest Headlines
- Archive
- Recent comments
- All-Time Popular Stories
- Hot Topics
- New Members
digiKam 7.7.0 is releasedAfter three months of active maintenance and another bug triage, the digiKam team is proud to present version 7.7.0 of its open source digital photo manager. See below the list of most important features coming with this release. |
Dilution and Misuse of the "Linux" Brand
|
Samsung, Red Hat to Work on Linux Drivers for Future TechThe metaverse is expected to uproot system design as we know it, and Samsung is one of many hardware vendors re-imagining data center infrastructure in preparation for a parallel 3D world. Samsung is working on new memory technologies that provide faster bandwidth inside hardware for data to travel between CPUs, storage and other computing resources. The company also announced it was partnering with Red Hat to ensure these technologies have Linux compatibility. |
today's howtos
|
*yawn*
I just read it...This is just a pointless whinge article. (And it smells like someone was hired by Microsoft to write this nonsense...Either that, or they really had no frigging clue to begin with).
In fact, its a non-issue. You pick a distro, you use it, you learn how to update it, you keep it secure. That's it.
Its a non-issue unless you keep moving distro to distro. If you stick with the one distro from the beginning, you'll do fine.
How hard is it to update "easy to use" distros like Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, etc? Its all clicking with the mouse! (Apparently, according to the article, that is still too hard. If that's hard, then how do people handle Windows Update via the "manually select patches to install" way?)
The article has very little substance, and doesn't offer anything but FUD tones to scare people about maintaining Linux systems.
Even for Gentoo...Is it hard to teach a newbie to type: emerge ?
1000 to 1 the author of that article has never touched a Linux system in their lives...Let alone write about it.