Just How Secure Is Linux?

It’s a question that haunts so many new comers to the penguin way of computing - do they need an antivirus? While many of us find the very idea amusing, this article serves as a reminder that it is going to be a cold day in Hell before we have the kind of malware issues seen on Windows.

The sad fact of the matter is that Windows runs in a very different way from other operating systems. It starts you out as root, then tries to protect the administrator by tossing all sorts of useless crap in front of potential threats rather than addressing the actual problem.

But perhaps the single biggest reason why Linux is not going to be threatened the way Windows is (and will continue to be) boils down to the fact that we are not mouth-breathers that click on every blind executable that happens to present itself. We are thinking, reasoning people. We understand that computers are a tool, not a toy. Sadly, despite Windows boasting some talented power users themselves, too many people on that platform are so dim that they really ought to re-evaluate their driving privileges.