Re: [school-discuss] Linux security fears fanned in press

[David Bolton <dbolton@ideaplace.org>]

I was going to ignore David's post, but maybe I should instead point out
that ZDnet does not have near the reputation for reporting integrity as
AP or Reuters (etc.).  Perhaps that's why Yahoo recently dropped
carrying them in their "Front Page Headlines".  And as for the little
known but much maligned Mi2g, the little I've heard about them has been
all bad.  They don't seem to HAVE a reputation for integrity.

If you want to make a decision about whether or not to use Linux, get
the facts from a reliable source, and remember, anyone can publish
anything on the Internet.

On Wed, Jul 31, 2002 at 10:48:26AM +0800, Leon Brooks wrote:
> On Wed, 31 Jul 2002 00:03, David Bucknell wrote:
> > A friend sent me this piece in Edupage citing a ZDnet article saying
> > "successful" attacks on Linux were up in the first six months of the year

[snip]

> There are now many more Linux machines to attack, and the figures are `drawing 
> a long bow' from the data available.
> 
> They also haven't defined `successful'. Killing your DNS doesn't have the same 
> impact as a CodeRed infection.
> 
> The article also doesn't mention that practically all of the extra attacks are 
> due to one single group of crackers, which leads one to wonder if they're 
> being helped in any way by enemies of Linux? There is another big difference 
> between random attacks and deliberate ones.

Nicely said, Leon!  And there's many more flaws one could point out, but
why bother?  Defending Linux against FUD only gives credence to the FUD.

Somewhat related, this article was in the Yahoo Headlines today:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=581&e=5&cid=581&u=/nm/20020730/tc_nm/tech_microsoft_licensing_dc_3

As you probably already know, if your email reader wraps the URL, make
certain that you put it back together.

Best regards,
David

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