another reason to use adblock and noscript... or just use Linux

[Lloyd Kvam]

On Wed, 2010-03-24 at 15:18 -0400, Benjamin Scott wrote:
>   However, if/when Linux gains significant market share, the Linux
> binary/shell script/.deb/autopackage/whatever that gets downloaded
> will run just fine.  In other words, this is only an effective
> countermeasure *as long as Linux remains a second-class citizen*.  I
> don't regard that as a winning strategy.

I think you are overlooking the social difference.  When people are used
to getting all of their software through synaptec/yum/pup they will
*NOT* be used to installing and running software from outside sources.
Its harder to distribute malware when people see the source.

(Yes, I know that a javascript exploit triggered this thread, so source
was available.  I also read enough to learn that the javascript
exploited browser plug-ins to spread malware without requiring user
interaction.  So that all validates the argument that Linux is not a
panacea.  Still, I'll continue.)

Also, I can not just execute programs in my firefox web pages.  I can
download for handling by some software (archive manager, rpm, etc.), but
nothing executes until I download the file and then choose to run it.
Executables in my emails do not get run unless I go out of my way to run
them.  What I'm getting at is that Windows is constructed to make the
execution of bits off the wire easy and (all-to-often) sometimes
automatic.  So far Linux has not made that mistake at least to the same
degree.  (e.g. I can connect a USB stick and not worry about
autoexecuting malware.  With Windows, can't a USB stick emulate a CD and
force auto-execute even when flash auto-execute is disabled??)  (Ben,
stop me I am spreading FUD.)

While I know that Linux computers and Macs are not invulnerable, they
have markedly lower malware penetration rates.  To argue that this lower
rate *only* comes from lower market share is going too far.  I'm not
arguing that Linux is invulnerable.  However there are a bunch of
factors besides small market share that tend to make it more secure than
Windows.


-- 
Lloyd Kvam
Venix Corp
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