RE: Hypothetical design question

[dtalk-ml () prairienet org]

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Alun Jones wrote:

> Is there something _technical_ that Linux offers, that Windows does not,
> that makes it immune from viruses?  If not, then the answer must be that the
> prevalence of viruses on Windows, and their near-absence on Linux must be
> due to non-technical reasons (such as the overwhelming prevalence of Windows
> systems, and of dumb users on those systems).

You left out an intermediate possibility: implementation realities.  
While it is true that privilege separation can be accomplished in
Windows NT derivatives, it usually isn't in practice, particularly with
home users.  This is not true of Unix-like consumer operating systems
(even OS X), which were designed with privilege separation in mind, and
whose user bases are accustomed to it.

Absent a software bug, the worst that I'm likely do to myself as a
non-privileged user on an out-of-the-box Red Hat system is destroy my
own data and send a lot of bogus email -- not trash my operating system,
as so often happens to Windows users who are accustomed to running with
administrative privileges.

- -d

- -- 
David Talkington
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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