Best Security...Apple or Linux/Intel?

I'm new to the board...but have many years on the Internet and worked in the computer/electonics business for 20 years. I built my first radio at age 10...and it used a vacuum tube, since transistors were just coming to market. Anyway, I've been interested in electronics all my life, and I must say I am appalled at the spyware situation. I may open a business on the internet soon...so should I just buy an Apple or switch to Linux for the best security? I like my Windows machine...and will continue to use it for non-critical applications...but which way should I go for best security...Apple or Intel/Linux? BTW, this is an awesome site...wish I had known about it sooner. I just bought Spyware Doctor and it found three major hacks that Spybot had been missing. PC Tools sent me an E-Mail about MajorGeeks, so that's how I got here. Thanks for any forthcoming help is appreciated.

MrNuke

 

Welcome to MG!!!!! enjoy your stay and be sure to wipe your feet before coming in!!

 

linux/unix are by far the most secure operating systems. and all though apple is unix based, its security dosent hold a candle to that of linux. most mission critical machines run linux.

 

that's pretty subjective.. a little sleuthing and you'll find that linux (of various distros) have security holes in them just as much as OSX and Windows..
The major difference is that MS takes 48..erm 4 to 8 months to patch and linux takes much less time.

Nothing .. and I repeat.. NOTHING is 100% secure.. You have to remember that it's all 1's and 0's . just numbers.. numbers can be manipulated.

I give to you example A.
Internet Explorer and FireFox/Mozilla

Not widely known/used=firefox * not payed much attention to.. security through "who cares".

Widely known and used =Internet Explorer 90% of the browser market.. security through "hackers who find holes and tell MS by proxy"

and now that FireFox is becoming more mainstream we are seeing that there are more security issues than were previously noted.

The situation with Linux and ANY other OS is no different; arguing the point is moot.

 

i dont think hes looking for a which os is better thread, but a which os is best for me thread. a bit more information on what you are going to be doing would help us help you decide.

 

Thanks for the responses. To be a little more specific, which OS has the least amount of spyware, viruses, and worms? I don't like people stealing from me. Some of it, I wouldn't mind if they tracked which sites I visited...but they should pay me for it...now they are stealing without permission. It should be a crime. Also, I need the most secure E-mail I can get. I know nothing will be 100% secure as intelligence agencies can legally gain access, and I don't mind that...since I don't break the law and am not a security risk. But I don't like all these software/marketing/ad companies gaining access to my data without asking or paying. It's theft...pure and simple...should be a crime. I would assume the OS with lowest market share would be the target of fewest attacks. I'm considering opening a commercial site on the web. I was thinking it would be better to try and partner with someone like Yahoo, Amazon, or E-Bay and let them handle as much as possible, so I would need to manage my website...and that would need to be secure as possible too. So which OS/Hardware combination would be the most secure? I think probably having two machines will be the best solution. I've got the HPxt3000 notebook with Centrino 1.3 MZ and it works great when it's not loaded with spyware.

MrNuke

 

Please don't take this the wrong way.

Not getting infected with spyware and viruses; at some point the person sitting at the keyboard has to take responsibility.

I Have Ad Aware, and Spybot installed on this machine.

Why? Merely to know how to use them, so I can direct others to use it over the phone.

They never catch anything more than cookies, with the exception of a program I installed recently, which was removed from this site. I can make it so the cookies are not an issue as well.

My point is, if you play your cards right, practice Safe Computing and stay up to date, there should be no issues with spyware, worms, or viruses.

It seems to me that being smart about browsing the web costs a lot less money than an Apple computer (for OSX), and causes less grey hair than learning a Linux or Unix OS. Trust me, its not a walk in the park.


Your call of course, but if I were in your shoes, I would choose the first option.

 

Had I not had a client call me while I was about to reply to this post, I would have said, nearly verbatim, exactly what adryn said..

 

>Had I not had a client call me while I was about to reply to this post, I would have >said, nearly verbatim, exactly what adryn said..

What did your client say? I will just be using the new machine to manage my website and send secure E-Mail. I can use the my current Windows XP machine for all the other stuff. Also, should I disable "systen restore" and do the BIOS chnages recommended ...if I'm using Spyware Doctor?

Thanks for all the help.

 

When I "turn off system restore" ir says I will lose all myn restore points. Are you sure it's safe to do this?

 

Kodo was right earlier. LOL this may sound strange but if you listen to MG on tv (clip is in the MG on T.V thread) he explains why. The reason that people think microsoft and PC's are so terrible with secuirity has to do with population. I mean, what good would it be if someone made a virus for apple or linux os's? No one would mind that much. In fact, it probably wouldn't be on the news. Hackers and virus maker people go for microsoft because they know thats what people use. So if they are going to get any attention its from the PC users. Hope that can add onto what Kodo said earlier. The same goes for what was said earlier with firefox and IE.

 

Thanks for the advice...after thinking about the learning curve with a new OS...and all the years i have with Windows..it wouldn't make sense. I would lose more time re-learning than I would dealing with spyware, worm, viruses, Trojans,etc. I was just upset with all the spyware. I've never had too much of a probelm with viruses. My Centrino notebook is working better now, but I'm still having a problem with RealPlayer...any suggestions there...is there a group for that problem? Thanks again for the advice.

MrNUke

 

I think the only reason its still alive today is because some media on some websites only work in realone player. I downloaded it just for that and then got rid of it. There is nothing that i can do that is special though.

 

I would ditch it too..but there's one program I like to listen to http://www.jmccanneyscience.com/ and it's only available in RealAudio..other wise I would scrap it because it seems to always being a pest...creating unnecessary files, and adding itself to my "Quicklaunch Bar". BTW...McKinney is kind if a "crackpot" scientist who has some weird ideas about a solar capacitor..I disregard his politocal commentary...but find some of his scientific ideas stimulating, but not necessarily correct. Anyway that's why I would like to get RealPlayer working. Is there another way to lsiten to the files without installing Real?

Thanks

 

I got errors while installing it so I had to abort the installation. Can you recommend a good disk cleaner? Seems like I've got 101MB of RealRhapsody with no "Uninstall" option. How does all this crap get on my system? I'm so thankful for a finding a place like this where I can get the "straight scoop". This board has great features too...still a newbie here...but it's a great site. Thanks to all who have taken the time to respond.

MrNuke

 

I must have a major problem. Something is keeping me from downloading this CCcleaner file. I can get a 286kb "setup.exe" file on my harddrive, but when I try to run it...it pops open for a fraction of a second and then closes. When I try to "open" it from net...it does the same. Any ideas?

 

Chaslang,

Thanks for your help.

>You said, "Also, should I disable "systen restore" and do the BIOS chnages >recommended ...if I'm using Spyware Doctor?"

This came from the "read me first" thread in the spyware forum.
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407 The message says this is supposed to be the first stuff you do first before running a spyware remover...and it lists five steps. Step 2 says to disable systems restore. Step five says to boot in safe mode. BTW i have not done this yet.


> 286kb is the size of ccsetup112.exe. Since you had a problem with this and with Real Alternative, I too have to question if you have some other problem. Can anything at all be downloaded and run/installed.

I have not had a problem downloading other files...but let me double check this point.

MrNuke

 

Chaslang,

So should I turn off system restore and run Spyware Doctor in safe mode before doing anything else? Won't this destroy all the restore points?