[ale] Scare tactics

[Alex LeDonne]

On 9/26/06, Billy049 <Billy049 at peoplepc.com> wrote:
> Recently I have noticed news items saying the internet bad guys are now
> targeting home users who need a security suite to protect them.  It
> seems firewall programs no longer support some of the older Windowses.
> Upgrade this, buy that, argh.  Oh yeah, and they're saying Firefox has
> lately had more vulnerabilities that the other guys products.
>
> Ok, so they have my attention now and they are scaring me towards using
> Linux for my online work.  I hope some can reassure me that this move
> will greatly increase my home computer's security.

Bill-

The biggest challenge with "older Windowses" is that Microsoft itself
no longer provides security support for those operating systems, and
their license agreement prohibits you from doing much about it.

Conversely, Linux systems allow you to do whatever you wish to do in
order to make your system as secure as you like, in the ways that you
like. Practically, what that means is that no one can coerce you to
upgrade, and as long as enough people find useful the software and
kernel versions that you are using, those software and kernel versions
will probably be updated and patched.

However, even in the Linux world, older kernels eventually fall into
disuse and neglect. While no one can coerce you to upgrade, you will
eventually find that maintenance of an old system is so burdensome,
that a kernel upgrade will become necessary. But it won't be costly -
it will most likely be dollar-cost-free.

James Sumners advice is correct - any system that is not
well-maintained will not be secure. Geoffrey is also right - don't
assume that you're safe; you must still make the effort to stay
secure. But Microsoft policy is that no Windows 95, 98, or ME system
can today be well-maintained. Linux at least gives you the opportunity
to maintain your system.

And the Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts are always here to lend a hand.

All the best,

Alex LeDonne

PS - I have an old (1996) laptop that simply cannot run a modern
(securable) Microsoft OS. It is running an up-to-date (secure) 2.4
linux kernel with a lightweight OS install. While a bit slow, it is a
perfectly productive browsing, e-mail, and text-editing client system.