Comments (3)

• tz

• It amazes me that he complains. After Mac OS X, I know of no Mac user who has actually had a viral infection (much less worm or trojan) on a Mac, nor on Linux (if he wants to keep his PC and has openoffice, firebird, and evolution to replace MS utilities). Of course there is a sunk cost of a small learning curve, which is probably less than the problems and expense of the various flora and fauna of computer malware. The only effect of MS viri is the spam I get because my address is in the computers of my acquaintances who use Windows.

  I wish I could figure this out. Then Detroit could go back to building faulty, low-quality, bad workmanship, gas guzzling cars, and charge a premium for them and everyone would still buy them and just keep going to the gas and service station while complaining but never switching. Better yet, the big 3 could merge and form a monopoly so that they could sell at most 2 or 3 really bad cars instead of having to change sheet metal and innovate.

  Keeping a stack of $100 bills in your chest pocket with many sticking out is unwise. As is a sign saying "Kick Me" on the back of your shirt. His complaint is that people attack easy and anonymous targets. The solution is to cease becoming low hanging fruit. Birds are smart enough to fly to a perch above my reach if I try to approach them. If only humans had enough sense.

  But good news, by 2011 Windows will be secure (but no guarantee any current software will work on WinMMXI - or maybe they think the internet will disappear by then). Note that Apache has a far larger share than IIS, but IIS is the victim of attacks and defacements, so it is not purely monoculture. It is a insecure monoculture.
  

• Published: August 31, 2004 9:56 AM

• Curt Howland

• Converting to anything other than Windows is less of a learning curve than going from one version of Windows to another, because there is no expectation of compatibility.

  Anyone still using Windows by now deserves all the pain and suffering. I will gladly help out anyone wanting to make the jump, but I refuse to feel pity any more.

  If you're on a PC, grab a copy of Knoppix. It's a "try it out harmlessly" version of Linux which has no effect on your existing system. Google for it, or just ask.

  Curt-

• Published: August 31, 2004 10:34 AM

• Paul D

• Hear hear! A year ago I was a Windows user, cleaning my computers of worms and trojans every week, having programs stop working because important DLLs had been altered or damaged, losing files due to system corruptions, getting harrassed by adware, and dealing with a myriad other headaches.

  Now I use a Mac for getting work done and Linux on my old PCs for file storage and other uses. There are zero viruses for Mac OS X, compared to over 100,000 for Windows (and growing by hundreds weekly). Plus Mac OS X is more stable, far easier to use, and looks way nicer.

  The Windows monoculture, due in large part to a monopoly protected by the government, can largely be blamed for most viruses, worms, and spyware. In the competitive Mac-Unix-Linux world, security is a priority and systems vary too much for worms and viruses to spread effectively.

• Published: August 31, 2004 5:40 PM