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Security and Ubuntu

I was not surprised by the result of the security contest held to test the defences of Vista, Mac OS X and Ubuntu. On the second day, hackers were able to control Mac OS X and soon Vista gave in before the contest was finished. This does not say much about the everyday use of these operating systems in the enterprise nor the home. I used Windows until 2007 and turn to Ubuntu because linux distros are safe and reliable when it comes to security from malware and virus. I have not given to worrying about phishing and malware since I installed my first linux distro in 2007.

The applications in Ubuntu are well supported by its community. Response to security concerns are prompt. It does not take very long before security patches are disclosed through updates to users. Managing individual applications is easy and quick with Synaptic Manager. All dependencies are automatically downloaded/selected. All you do is give the system the administrator password or the superuser authorization, allowing the installation of the application.

In Windows, all users are by default superusers and can install software. Hackers with their malwares can trick a user into downloading a code to infect the operating system. A good operating system should be able to protect its average user from doing damage to his own system at least at this instance.

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