Asked By
Hallen
470 points
N/A
Posted on - 05/19/2011
Linux is open source operating system. As far as i know it never get affected by viruses!
But i don't understand why? What is the specialty of Linux or other open source operating system?
Why? If anyone can built a open source virus then what happens? The main feature against virus is this but what about other type of securities.
Does Linux offer a proper secure computing? I have never used Linux so i have no experience of this operating system.
Can any one who has knowledge of this type of operating system please answer my question.
How secure Linux is?
This will help to make me confident about using open source operating system.
So i want some good informative answer that can truly explain all the feature of Linux.
Thanks.
What are the basic feature in linux for security??
Hello Hallen,
Your concept of Linux never getting affected by viruses may be a little off track as far as security is concerned. Let me explain to you why Linux can be more secure than Windows.
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Intruders usually follow the law of numbers when targeting operating systems to break or infiltrate into. Operating systems with the greatest number of vulnerabilities are the first thing they attack. And since the most common type of operating system out there is Windows, they study it and discover ways to get around its security features. The term “attack surface” comes into mind, meaning Windows has a larger attack surface compared to Linux due to its popularity and sheer number of users. So to answer your question, Linux can also get affected by viruses made for it, although security wise it has an advantage over Windows.
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A typical example of a virus made for Windows involves the extension “.exe”. A virus with that type of extension can never infect Linux computers simply because it uses a different file structure. So no virus, malware, adware, or worm made for Windows can ever infect a Linux based distribution.
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Latest Linux distributions disable the root (or administrator in windows) account. An executable script would need root privileges first before it does what it has been intended to do. All the user has to do is view the script and what terminal commands it contains. The “click” mentality does not exist for Linux users, because of the “terminal” behavior. It’s all about file permission security that Linux and Unix systems have. The latest Windows version has started to employ that “password” prompt security measure when executing applications needing administrator privileges (the UAC).
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There is this saying that “to destroy a Linux computer you have to work AT it”, and “to destroy a Windows computer, all it takes is you working ON it”. Social engineering on Linux is far more different than Windows. Early Linux users were typical geeks, knew how to look before they leaped, and were smart in the ways of computing. Windows users, on the other hand remain what they are today, a mix of clickers, Newbie, moderates, and hardcore.
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In terms of legality, Windows’ closed-source model has been a source of frustration, since exploits in the system could not be solved as fast as users from the Linux community, which uses the GNU-GPL or General Public License allowing anyone to modify “open” source code which is freely available. Vulnerabilities are easier to spot and solve. Daily updates appear for Linux users where they just patch the system on a daily basis.
Now the conclusion is yes, Linux offers more security features than Windows in so many ways although there lies a learning curve obstacle to familiarize oneself with this type of system. Using Linux though does not guarantee a zero-virus scenario, since the system can also be infected. It really depends in the end on how the user manages the operating system of his/her choice.
What are the basic feature in linux for security??
Hi Hallen,
An Open Source Operating System, which is most popular these days is Linux, Linux have more than 50 different distributions from different organization targeting different kind of users and communities and some time for specific usage like Red Hat Linux for Oracle users.
This Linux distribution is specifically developed for Oracle users. If we consider the market share of Open Source Operating system we have to realize the ground reality and ground reality is different. Open Source Operating systems have less than 10% share in common user category. Microsoft has a big share in common user category due to user-friendly and graphics. This thing make it is most popular operating system among people.
Today Linux users are very few than windows users but in future it will get a big market share. Currently Linux is using for high profile like servers and the setup’s where failure can’t be afforded. Biggest reason of using Linux is the security features of Linux. Linux also have no or less virus threat and it is a biggest edge for Linux setups.
So let’s start with some Linux, I am not making you expert of Linux but I want to tell you something interesting. You can found a wide variety of Linux tutorials on Internet. Here we are just going to discuss only the security features of Linux. Linux has Graphical User Interface and also has command line for user commands.
In security section of Linux we can found Novel App Armor which is application security program and basically dictates what an application can and cannot do. In user security we can found user management, where you can make users and groups same like windows.
Best thing we can see in security of user is the password policy. I always advice people about passwords, never use ordinary words and numbers use as your passwords because they can be bypass easily. In Linux you can restrict your user for password selection with password policy.
You can off and on your fire wall same as windows and even if you have Ethernet cards more than one you can easily manage your Ethernet cards with your file wall. In Linux user restriction and directory access is very out class, that’s why you can see 80% of internet based on Linux.
In Linux we have directory permission (Read, write and Execute or rwx) and we can restrict our user with these permissions, for example an administrator has all permissions = rwx mean admin can read, write and execute. Other user like a power user has permissions = rw- means power user can Read, write but cannot execute some application. For public permission can be like this = r- – means user can only read, no write and no execute. Directory permission also showed with numbers too like following
Permissions owner – group – user
777 is the same as rwx rwx rwx
755 is the same as rwx r-x r-x
666 is the same as rw- rw- rw-
744 is the same as rwx r– r–
