root vs. user

You’ve no doubt heard the rumors that Linux (or Mac OS) doesn’t get viruses.  You’ve probably come across the rumor that Linux is more secure because of the way it’s built.

Those rumors are true, for the most part.  But, specifically why are they true?

One of the biggest reasons Linux doesn’t get viruses is because of the way user accounts are set up.  When you create an account in almost any Linux distro, you’re created a user account, which has limited privilages.  It is the root user that can alter the Operating Systems guts.

In a server environment (an office or school), the only person who has access to the root account is the System Administrator.  In a Home environment, since you personally installed the Linux OS onto your computer, you get to choose a password for accessing the root account, but the default is still the user account.

So, as a user, you have basic privilages, and you have access to only certain files in the Operating system.  The privilages of a user account are almost always sufficient for the average computer user.  The root account allows access to all files, including the important files that the OS uses, and you can perform certain functions like partitioning hard disks, installing software, or adjusting firewall settings.

This seperation of privilages makes Linux a tough environment for viruses to reproduce in, given that the default user account’s file access privilages are limited to non-critical files.  Attacking the root account is extremely difficult, particularly if you have a good password, and a little bit of encryption; a firewall like SELinux also helps to identify “illegal” tasks, like when an application tries to run in root without telling the user.

“But open-source code is more insecure because all the source is free for the virus makers to exploit!”

If you haven’t heard that argument, I’d be surprised.  Well, let’s set the record straight.

The argument that open-source is less secure because it’s open, is self-defeating.  In fact, open source is more secure, because it’s open.  How can you hide a virus inside an application if all the code is open for anyone to see?  Because it’s open source, a virus would be spotted before the app is even close to public release, and when it is released, thousands upon thousands of developers will examine the code before deploying the app for their own purposes.

The root account/user account separation, along with the open-source nature of Linux is what makes it virus free.  That’s not saying a virus can’t happen, but Linux is part of an ecosystem that is extremely unfriendly to a virus.

Some might add that another reason Linux is virus free is because of it’s small market share, but I really don’t think that has anything to do with.  Linux could have 100% market share, and as long as every part of the OS is open-source, viruses will not get far.

Fedora 11 Beta release notes - FedoraProject.

The beta of Fedora 11, codenamed “Leonidas”, has been released to the world.  Some of the most notable changes include the new Gnome 2.26, KDE 4.2.1, and Xfce 4.6.0 desktop environments, along with a new default filesystem, Ext 4, and an experimental release of a brand new filesystem, Btrfs.

There are lots more new features with Fedora 11, see the entire list here.

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TomTom is now an official licensee in the OIN, which means they can take advantage of all patents owned by OIN, so long as they don’t “assert its patents against the Linux System.”

This comes a month after Microsoft filed a patent lawsuit against TomTom and it’s linux-based GPS systems.  Although TomTom uses proprietary software on top of their linux-based GPS’s, the fact that they’re now a lincensee in the Open Invention Network could mean a step closer to a purely free GPS device.

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The Genivi Alliance is making progress on the development of a middleware platform for In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) systems (GPS, iPOD connectivity, bluetooth recivers, satellite tv/radio setups, etc…).

It’s based on Wind River Linux, and the Intel Atom processor, and the middleware stack is due out this summer.

It looks like HP is attempting to get into the Linux net book game, although there Operating system is Ubuntu the GUI is radically different.  For more information on the HP Mini Mi edition click on the link below for the full article on downloadsquad.com

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Forge.mil, based on Sourceforge code is designed simply to memic the functionality of Sourceforge, with some security enhancments to better suite the needs of the Department of Defense. The Defense department have been leaning toward open-source software for a while now, and this latest project is yet another indication that they are serious when they suggest that open-source is a business model that “works for everyone”.

Forge.mil currently hosts 3 projects, one called Bastille, which is designed to automate server configuration, another handles requests for proposals development, and another project is designed to automate the “secure configuration of Solaris systems” (Solaris is an open-source operating system by Sun Microsystems).

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Perhaps Mark Shuttleworth is right when he so gleefully welcomes the release of Windows 7.  Ever since Vista was released on January 31st, 2007, Linux has been gaining a lot of steam, thanks to Vista’s many pitfalls.

Ubuntu is without a doubt leading the charge when it comes to proliferation of the Linux kernel, and thanks to the popularity of netbooks, Linux is fastly becoming the operating system of choice for many netbook users.

Microsoft isn’t comfortable with this trend.

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If the current economic crisis hasn’t already become evident maybe this will change your mind. As more and more of us have to tighten our financial belts, we look to every corner of our lives to save money. We cut back on phone services, eating out, entertainment, and new purchases. For most of us shelling out 400-800 dollars for a new computer or 200 dollars for the highly anticipated Windows 7 is not at the top of our to-do list.

This is a prime time for Ubuntu and other free alternatives to take root, why not keep your current hardware, and get more functionality out of it. There has always been an argument that Linux is not friendly enough, and “that’s for geeks I couldn’t understand that”. Well fair enough it’s something different, but if anything it’s easier to learn. Recently a new guide has come out that gives users foreign to anything beyond windows the opportunity to shorten the learning curve. The full version is available for free for those cost conscious to download in a PDF, and in book form from Amazon.

With the latest versions of windows making changes to the ways users navigate through the OS now is the best time to give alternatives a shot. Just keep one thing in mind before you click away, and forget that you read this. What do you have to loose from downloading the guide and the OS below. If you don’t like it then you can go spend money, but once you buy that coveted shiny box labeled windows you have paid your money, and cannot get it back.

Click here to Download the Guide

Click here to Download Ubuntu

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The Alpha 3 Build of Ubuntu “Jaunty Jackalope” 9.04 boots in 21.4 seconds, but there is a catch.  The fast boot time is due to the new Ext 4 file system which is a declared stable, but will not be the default file system of 9.04.

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