> > On Thu, 2005-02-10 at 18:09, Doug McLaren wrote: > > > On Thu, Feb 10, 2005 at 11:24:49AM -0600, William L. Jarrold wrote: > > > > | When I see announcements like the below, I get really angry and I think > > | (to myself) stuff like... > > | > > | (1) the security problem is that people use windows. > > | > > | (2) If everyone switched to unix/linux systems would be 99% (90%???, > > | 99.9%???) more secure. > > > > 99.9% more secure = almost twice as secure. I don't think you're > > using the right terms to express yourself here. However, to say > > `99.9% fewer security' problems, which is probably closer to what you > > really mean, is pretty difficult to believe. > > > > | (3) Windows has serious misfeatures and bugs related to security. > > > > To be fair, you've made some assertions here and not backed them up > > with any facts whatsoever. Granted, your audience probably doesn't > > need them all explained, but even so, some examples are required. > > >
You want proof?Here is your proof > (The system I scanned was supposed to be "patched"). > > > > > > | (4) e.g. one such misfeature is that Winblows > > > > Saying things like Winblows, Micro$oft (and Linsux and Slowlaris) will > > not convince anybody of anything except that you're a kook and best > > ignored. > > > > | thinks that every file is a program to be executed. unix/linux, by > > | contrast, implements the distinction between executable and > > | non-executable files. > > > > Windows does *not* think that every file is a program to be executed. > > It generally decides how a program is to be executed based on it's > > file extension (.exe, .cmd, etc.) where *nix does the exact same > > thing, but it's based upon the first few bytes of the file (the magic > > number.) > > > > I do believe that the *nix `magic number' system is more powerful than > > the Windows `file extension' system, but I wouldn't say that either is > > really significantly more secure than the other. > > > > In both *nix and Windows you can execute a program by giving the name > > of the file to be executed to the name of the program that executes > > it. Like `perl file', `sh file', `cmd file' or `java file'. > > > > | ...I don't yell (or at least, try not to (-;) this to all my friends bc > > my > > | understanding of these issues is primitive and quite likely wrong. Thus, > > | trumpeted my views would risk being accused of "crying wolf." At the risk > > | of starting a flame war I would love to hear people improve upon the > > | above assertions. > > | > > | To the extent that some approximation of assertions 1 thru 4 are true, > > | at least one person from this list should go to this meeting and as > > | calmly as possible state/ask during the Q/A somethign to the effect of > > | "just get rid of windows, adopt unix/linux and 99% of your problems will > > | go away." > > > > Of course, doing so will probably get you labeled as one of those > > `linux weenies' and promptly ignored. And that 99% figure is an > > outright lie -- sure, most of their current problems will go away, but > > they will be replaced with many new problems, and some of the old > > problems will come back, but looking a little different. > > > > You also need to understand the administration's goals -- Windows is > > probably what most of the student body and faculty wants, and the > > administration's goal is to give them what they want. Now, the > > administration may choose to give them what they *think* they want > > rather than what they're asking for, but then you'll start getting > > into some serious political issues. > > > > Ultimately, most end users want Windows. A few want Macs. Fewer > > still will want things like Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, AIX, etc. Trying > > to force one group to use something else is not going to be easy -- > > they'll fight you every step of the way, and even assuming that you > > win that fight, there's still the issues of education and support. > > > > One thing that can be done to make you seem like less of a zealot is > > to not keep saying Linux, Linux, Linux. Mix it up -- rather than > > Linux, suggest a `Unix clone' -- Linus, FreeBSD, Solaris, etc. > > > > Bring up examples of companies or other universities who have made the > > switch, and talk about all the savings in licensing costs and support > > hours, increased productivity, etc. When somebody makes this sort of > > switch and succeeds, they usually write all kinds of white papers and > > such about it to brag about their accomplishment. Capitalize upon > > their success. > > > > And lastly, don't get your hopes up. Changing people's minds is hard, > > and the odds are that you will not succeed. That doesn't mean you > > shouldn't try -- but you should be prepared for failure, and be > > prepared to learn from your failure. > > > > And before you dismiss me as a `Microsoft sympathizer', you should > > probably know that that's about as far from the truth as you could > > get. > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > Analabha Roy Graduate Student > > Department Of Physics, University of Texas, 1 University Station > C1600, Austin, Texas 78712-0264, United States emails: > [EMAIL PROTECTED], Home Page: > http://www.ph.utexas.edu/~daneel > > Get Firefox! > > ______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Analabha Roy Graduate Student Department Of Physics, University of Texas, 1 University Station C1600, Austin, Texas 78712-0264, United States emails: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Home Page: http://www.ph.utexas.edu/~daneel Get Firefox! ________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Siglinux mailing list [email protected] http://www.utacm.org:81/mailman/listinfo/siglinux
