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This is a story published on The Register, the UK's leading IT news web site. You can find the original at:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/security/security_report_windows_vs_linux/
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Security Report: Windows vs Linux
An independent assessment
By Nicholas Petreley
Friday 22nd October 2004 07:26 GMT
* Executive Summary * Busting The Myths + Myth: There's Safety In Small Numbers + Myth: Open Source is Inherently Dangerous + Myths: Conclusions Based on Single Metrics * Windows vs. Linux Design + Windows Design o Windows has only recently evolved from a single-user design to a multi-user model o Windows is Monolithic by Design, not Modular o Windows Depends Too Heavily on the RPC model o Windows focuses on its familiar graphical desktop interface + Linux Design o Linux is based on a long history of well fleshed-out multi-user design o Linux is Modular by Design, not Monolithic o Linux is Not Constrained by an RPC Model o Linux servers are ideal for headless non-local administration * Realistic Security and Severity Metrics + Elements of an Overall Severity Metric o Overall Severity Metric and Interaction Between the Three Key Metrics o The Exception To The Rule o Applying The Overall Severity Metric + Means Of Evaluating Metrics o Exposure Potential o Exploitation Potential o Damage Potential o Overall Severity Risk + Additional Considerations o Application Imbalance o Setup and Administration * A Comparison of 40 Recent Security Patches + Patches and Vulnerabilities Affecting Microsoft Windows Server 2003 + Patches and Vulnerabilities Affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 * CERT Vulnerability Notes Database Results * References * Footnotes
Executive Summary
Much ado has been made about whether or not Linux is truly more secure than Windows. We compared Windows vs. Linux by examining the following metrics in the 40 most recent patches/vulnerabilities listed for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3: ...
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