On Fri, 2010-04-16 at 13:47 -0700, jdow wrote: > From: "Patrick O'Callaghan" <pocallaghan@xxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Thursday, 2010/April/15 13:31 > > > > On Thu, 2010-04-15 at 13:02 -0700, Michael Miles wrote: > >> Is Fedora really that secure? > > > > Even if we limit the discussion to email viruses, that's a very complex > > and difficult question (to which the answer is "yes" :-). It's not an > > attribute exclusive to Fedora as such, but to all Unix-based systems, > > mainly for three reasons: > > > > 1) The mail client isn't running as root. > > 2) Even when running as root, Linux mail clients won't blindly execute > > attachments. > > 3) Even for executable attachments, the virus is written for Windows and > > won't run on Linux. > > > > Of course it's in principle possible to get past all the above barriers, > > so *in theory* you can have a Linux virus, assuming the user is stupid > > enough to run an unknown executable. As I say, I've never seen one in > > the wild. > > > >> I come from windows and I am amazed at how not secure windows is. > > > > See (3) above. Most viruses are written for Windows as it's the most > > popular platform. MS likes to pretend that's the only reason it gets all > > the grief, but there are other factors. > > Patrick, the best AV tool of all is a savvy user given the number of > social engineering attacks of late. And, at least historically, 'ix users > have been quite savvy about security. That makes a huge difference. A > single mistake running something you should not have because it looks > important can bust your whole day. Based on the security forums I read > I'd not consider Linux bullet-proof "today" - kernel null pointer > dereferences and mmap are your enemy du jour. Again, you're answering the wrong question. This thread is not about the general security or otherwise of Linux. It's about vulnerability to viruses. poc -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
