eAction

First go read this news item: ABCnews.go.com/

and, an example of one who was charged with a similar crime finally being absolved: news.zdnet.co.uk/

When you’ve read those, come back to read Fred’s response.

What both of these articles confuse is the difference between a PC and an OS (operating system). Just like many people confuse the church BUILDING with the Church (a congregation of people), they fail to understand that Windows is NOT a Personal Computer (PC). It is an operating system. There are several other operating systems available today. With the exception of the Apple Mac OS X, most are free. ALL of them are MORE secure than Windows!! The journalist uses the term PC when he should be saying Windows. Both PCs ran WINDOWS, notorious for its lack of security and vulnerability. Microsoft’s “Dirty Little Secret” is that Windows is IMPOSSIBLE to make secure to any acceptable level by untrained people, and the security holes found in the newly released VISTA indicates that there won’t be much of a change in that tradition. PROFESSIONAL system admins have a lot of trouble making Windows secure (IF at all), what chance do you or your kids have?!

In a recent article the technical reporter for the New York Times did NOT recommend connecting Windows to the Internet!

A Windows computer should never be connected to the Internet. It is NOT IF it will get infected, only WHEN. One survey showed that 11% of the 630 million Windows computers in the USA are continually pumping out zombies, spambots, spam mail, trojans and keyboard loggers. Linux and Open Source software powers 70% of the Internet and Windows powers 28%. Yet, virtually ALL of the malware, that is 100%!, comes from compromised Windows Internet servers.

I’ve been running Linux for over 10 years. For most of that time, my Linux powered PCs have been connected to the internet via a broadband connection (RoadRunner). Yet, in ALL of that time, my computers have never been infected nor have they been hacked into. Hundreds of thousands of emails containing malware have bounced off my email client. I’ve even played with some of them to see what makes them tick, but they cannot automatically infect my Linux OS they way they can a Windows OS.

Because Linux was designed as a SECURE multi-user networking operating system from its beginning its security, speed and stability FAR surpasses ANY version of Windows ever released, INCLUDING Vista. IF you run Linux on your PC it won’t become a DoS launch pad. It won’t become a spambot and spammail server. And, it won’t be downloading illicit materials onto your harddrive because of infections by Trojans…..period!

Keep your kid(s) out of jail. Put Linux on his/her PC!!

Let me recommend openSUSE or KUbuntu…….openSUSE being the VERY MUCH prefered choice. You can purchase a “LiveCD” from several Internet websites or you can download an ISO file(s) (image) to burn a DVD or CDs. Go to: OpenSuse.org. All “LiveCD”s are a bootable disk that you can run entirely from your DVD/CDROM drive WITHOUT touching your Windows installation. OR, after it has booted up into the LiveCD mode, you can chose the install icon and install it on your hard disk.

If you need help, there are plenty of elists and forums to get assistance, but you really MUST/SHOULD be rid of the evil beast that is MickySoft!!

Fred Miller, Lansing, NY