On Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:50:42 +0000, Leon wrote:






If Unix became the next OS in every home like Microsoft is now, do you think
that "everyone" would be able to do that fair amount of work to insure its
security against spammers?

To put it another way, setting up an insecure Unix box takes a fair
^^^^^^^^

I think you read that one backwards, Leon :-).


I am only saying that Unix is strong because it does not appeal to the
masses, a target not worth the time needed to crack it, today.

I don't doubt that dedicated hackers could get into Unix. They have
before, albeit most intrusions were of the "worm" and not the "virus"
species.

But when every process runs in its own protected memory space, it does
limit the opportunities for system-wide damage. And at least one Unix,
OpenBSD, was designed specifically for security.

But your point is valid. There would surely be more hacking attempts, and
successes, were Unix the predominant OS. I just don't think they'd be as
frequent or as severe.