<snip>
Bryan Phinney wrote:
<snip>
So, when I see someone complain about Linux not being ready for primetime because it doesn't include something like voice recognition (nice but most people wouldn't classify that as a major necessity), and remember how WinXP got compromised within six months even with precautions having been taken, I really have to laugh out loud.
With WinXP, I still can't be sure the user actually intalled or opened anything, there are simply too many security holes that could account for the trojans being there.
Bryan is 100% correct. Linux in general and Mandrake specifically have come a long way in the last few years to the point that most day-today applications are supported and for the most part Linux supports quite a cross-section of hardware.
On the security side, I think I have Bryan beat though. Grin! I had to do a Windows 2000 Pro install for a client's dual-boot system. In less than 20 seconds from connecting to his ISP, Windows was not only infected but also totally hosed.
This particular ISP has hopped into bed with Microsoft - Big Time - and as a result, their network is also being hit with some of the nastiest crap that anyone has ever written, including a virus that can stay resident in DSL modems! Don't know if this is the first time it's ever happened or not, but the modem had to be replaced.
As soon as the infected modem was disconnected from the PC's LAN port, the virus stopped infecting the PC. It was trying to reinfect the system each time the modem was accessed and typically succeeded before any PPPOE software was started and also before the Anti-virus software was fully loaded into RAM. Since the Anti-Virus program was unable to detect the modem or scan it, the only thing it could do was to detect the infected files.
I had downloaded all the usual security, spyware and anti-virus goodies using Mandrake and installed them from a shared FAT32 partition, so Windows was as safe as it was going to get, and it only took 20 seconds.
Not sure if that was a new record, but it's gotta be awful close!
Other than some unsupported Scanners, Mopiers and 'P. of S.' Winmodems, Linux now supports most devices and those that aren't are either too old, too new or in the process of being done, with the exception of those being built specifically for Windows.
One other thing to mention is that most of the hardware that IS supported by Linux, usually runs at least as good (if not much better) in Linux than it does in Windows.
Just my $0.02 !
-- Lanman Registered Linux User #190712
____________________________________________________ Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com Join the Club : http://www.mandrakeclub.com ____________________________________________________
