| Hack-that-desktop-OS contest |
Feb. 22, 2008
 Blog -- So, what's the most secure desktop operating system of all? Well, we'll get at least a hint from an upcoming bout pitting some top hackers against Mac OS X, Windows Vista and Ubuntu.
The target systems in this hack-a-thon, according to my colleague Ryan Naraine at eWEEK, are a MacBook Air, running the latest OS X, fully patched with typical configuration; a Sony VAIO VGN-TZ37CNB, running the latest release of Ubuntu; and a Fujitsu U810, with a fully patched Windows Vista installation. There was no word as to whether the here-again-gone-again Vista Service Pack 1 will be used.
From where I sit, the results really won't say that much because applications are fair game as well as the operating system. So, if, for example, you can pry open QuickTime, always an easy target, then -- pop! -- you've probably broken into both Vista and Leopard.
This competition will still be fun. It's just that like many such events, as well as far more formal benchmarking, it really isn't going to be saying that much about the inherent security of an operating system.
Besides, as I'm fond of saying, security is a process, not a product. Any system that's not kept constantly patched is vulnerable. Yes, Linux does tend to be far more secure than Windows and somewhat more secure than Mac OS. But that's only a general statement. No matter what operating system you use, you have to make sure you do the right things to make sure that it specifically is as secure as you can make it.
It's just that, as it so happens, it's a lot easier to do with Linux than it is with everyone's favorite zero-day target operating system, Windows.
-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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