wigblog ramblings of a philomathic polymath

Study Finds Windows More Secure Than Linux

I'm sure I'll be hearing from some people on this Slashdot story:

Study Finds Windows More Secure Than Linux:
cfelde writes "A Windows Web server is more secure than a similarly set-up Linux server, according to a study presented yesterday by two Florida researchers." In addition to the Seattle Times article, there is also coverage on VNUnet. From the article: "The researchers, appearing at the RSA Conference of computer-security professionals, discussed the findings in an event, 'Security Showdown: Windows vs. Linux.' One of them, a Linux fan, runs an open-source server at home; the other is a Microsoft enthusiast. They wanted to cut through the near-religious arguments about which system is better from a security standpoint."

Now the pullquote they didn't show you was this:

Ford said the idea was to represent what an average system administrator may do, as opposed to a "wizard" who could take extra steps to provide plenty of security on a Linux setup, for instance.

In my book, the "average" system administrator should definitely be taking any extra steps to ensure security on a box. If they don't, they shouldn't be administering systems.