Why most run Microsoft, not RedHat

[Tom Rivers]

On Fri, 2007-04-20 at 11:08 +0930, Tim wrote:
> He had a USB ADSL modem.  So, your computer is (almost) directly
> connected.  I can't really remember which version it was, now.
> 

The reason I asked is that it really isn't a good idea to take a pre
Service Pack 2 Windows XP computer and plug it into the Internet because
it doesn't have a firewall protecting it by default.  Had your friend
been using a cheap router between his PC and the ISP's modem, he
wouldn't have caught any virus because he would've gone straight to
Windows Update and patched the system to a state of relative safety.

Your point regarding the inherent insecurity of Windows XP (at least as
far as pre Service Pack 2 versions are concerned) has merit because
Microsoft, to my knowledge, has always had some kind of packet filter
available for NICs but hasn't enabled them by default.  Microsoft still
has a lot of security issues concerning its products, despite its
Trustworthy Computing Initiative, and I don't see that problem going
away anytime soon.

I guess the only point I want to make is that regardless of the security
weaknesses of the product, there are steps that can be taken to make it
more secure.  Blindly plugging any unpatched system into the Internet,
especially one without firewall protection, is never a good idea.


Tom