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I'm sure I'm not the only one who notices within a community that there is a certain trend among participants to hardline a stance between Operating Systems - understatement of the decade, ya?
This presentation is for all the people who insist that their OS is better by default. Macs are invulnerable. Linux is the most secure. Windows is more secure than ever.
For everyone who ever gave their IT security guy crap for blocking email attachments, pay attention ;)
I've only managed to find the Ustream version of the presentation, but it's worth noting that it is making the rounds amongst the security community at events like BsidesSF, SANS and the RSA Conference.
Take a watch, you might be surprised how much farther along the crooks, really are.
Your computer is worth 30 cents
PS: I'm not Gunter.
A real interesting watch.
But it isn't for everyone... It is about 45 minutes of presentation, and 15 minutes of Q&A. (I am guessing on the length of the Q&A, because I didn't last that long.) Gunter is not a bad speaker... But he sure isn't a an exciting one.
The end result is, compromising your computer is a business, and a thriving one at that. Any malware, or botnet you might hear about in the news is likely several years old and not even a drop in the bucket for all the "bad guys" out there.
That being said, Windows is more secure than ever, Linux is the most secure by default*, and Macs have never been invulnerable. :-P
*Once the user starts using it however, the point becomes moot.
Thanks for posting this just before bedtime! I can save myself an Ambien.
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Thanks for posting this just before bedtime! I can save myself an Ambien.
No problem! ;)
I knew it wasn't for everyone, but hey, what good is a tech forum without some tech?
The end result is, compromising your computer is a business, and a thriving one at that. Any malware, or botnet you might hear about in the news is likely several years old and not even a drop in the bucket for all the "bad guys" out there.
Ya, sadly the truth. Once organizations get past a certain size, it becomes seemingly impossible for them to keep up. As he mentioned, and further research can be found online, even the Google compromise was largely "amateur". (Via Operation Aurura
I was more enamored with the idea of cloud based malware code review platforms. Too funny.
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Dell is "pushing" Linux based machine because they are more secure.
I think they have a good shot with this one; UBuntu is just user friendly and the UI familiar "enough" that people should grok it pretty easily.
Fight fire with fire, or "hack the hackers."
I think they have a good shot with this one; UBuntu is just user friendly and the UI familiar "enough" that people should grok it pretty easily.
As a long-time Mac user, I can tell you that, for the general public there is an INSANE amount of Windows inertia. I don't mind Linux, but until you see either a) Microsoft Office for Linux or b) game boxes with "Windows/Mac/Linux" on the box, it's only going to be a hit with a small segment of the population. Installed user base may even eclipse Mac, but good luck toppling that Windows juggernaut.
Microsoft just has too big a lead.
Greg
P.S. I use Open Office at home (actually, NeoOffice) and even I feel more comfortable using MS Office at work, even with those stoopid ribbons. Really can't explain why.
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As a long-time Mac user, I can tell you that, for the general public there is an INSANE amount of Windows inertia. I don't mind Linux, but until you see either a) Microsoft Office for Linux or b) game boxes with "Windows/Mac/Linux" on the box, it's only going to be a hit with a small segment of the population. Installed user base may even eclipse Mac, but good luck toppling that Windows juggernaut.
Oh I agree; Microsoft skills are a big part of how I pay my mortgage. I was thinking more along the lines, that it may have a good shot as far as 'nixes go in general, since so far most attempts to bring Linux to mass market PCs and Laptops has failed.
I can't remember the exact number, but the sale of Netbooks went up something in the range of 4000% once Windows could run on them straight from the sales floor.
Not even Dell is going to bring MS down.
Oh I agree; Microsoft skills are a big part of how I pay my mortgage. I was thinking more along the lines, that it may have a good shot as far as 'nixes go in general, since so far most attempts to bring Linux to mass market PCs and Laptops has failed.
I can't remember the exact number, but the sale of Netbooks went up something in the range of 4000% once Windows could run on them straight from the sales floor.
Not even Dell is going to bring MS down.
No, and all Dell may do is simply attract all the Linux enthusiasts that are really not interested in paying the Windows-tax on a machine they have no intention of running windows on. I don't know if that will actually off-set the loss of sales from the average person who doesn't really have any Linux experience. (I actually don't think Dell will attract many, if any Linux-virgins, quite frankly. But that's just MHO.) Unless of course, they make both "flavours" in which case it's win-win.
In fact, one wonders if this isn't a tactic to try and get some sort of deal or concessions out of Microsoft. I can't imagine what that might be, but Dell being one of the big players in the PC market certainly would have as much influence on Microsoft as any other PC maker, if any one company can actually exert any influence on MS.
Greg