[LAD] Linux Malware

[David Robillard]

On Thu, 2012-03-22 at 18:17 +0300, Louigi Verona wrote:
> Hey guys!
> 
> This is an Offtopic question, really, but I wanted to ask people I
> know and people who are developers - what are the reasons there are
> (almost) no viruses on Linux?
> 
> The typical argument is that there are not too much users.

Maybe "typical" in Redmond... the typical sane argument is that users on
Lignux systems only have write access to their home directories, which
the system does not run software from by default.

Windows, on the other hand, traditionally had users running with
complete access to the system.  Add to the mix notoriously flaky
low-quality code, slow moving development, and a core system built from
numerous layers of piled legacy crap, and it'd be shocking if exploits
*didn't* run rampant.

Anyone claiming that any system would have been as badly affected in
Windows' situation has no idea what they're talking about.  The system
essentially didn't have any form of security whatsoever.  The security
model wasn't flawed, it *wasn't there*.  You didn't have to exploit the
system to get viruses and malware on it, you just had to get the user to
run something.

Windows isn't a victim of its own popularity, it's a victim of being
crap.

-dr