Fwd: Security and open source software

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Forwarded from TYR which was forwarded from news net about Gartner Group.
Some people might also use the "obscure" argument on the 400.
It is more important to work with OS whose creators are not brain dead on
security & also have strong support for other good goals.
Sorry, I have not been closely following the IIS discussion.

MacWheel99@aol.com (Alister Wm Macintyre) (Al Mac)
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Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 17:56:29 -0000
From: "Al Macintyre" <MacWheel99@aol.com>
To: MacWheel99@aol.com
Subject: Fwd:  Security and open source software
User-Agent: eGroups-EW/0.82

--- In TYR@y..., "Karl Vogel" <vogelke@d...> wrote:
http://lwn.net/2001/0927
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-201-7239473-0.html
Gartner: dump IIS
27 Sep 2001

The analysts have released a new set of proclamations relating to
Linux
and free software.  Analyst opinions should always be taken with a
grain
of salt (if not an entire shaker of salt); they do not always reveal a
deep understanding of how free software works.  Nonetheless, they are
a
good indicator of how a certain segment of the world views free
software.

The Gartner Group is one of those analyst operations that has shown,
over
time, an inability to "get" what makes Linux what it is.  The Group's
opinions have generally been hostile.  So the latest words of wisdom
from Gartner are doubly interesting when they state:

    Gartner recommends that businesses hit by both Code Red and Nimda
    immediately investigate alternatives to IIS, including moving Web
    applications to Web server software from other vendors such as
iPlanet
    and Apache.  Although those Web servers have required some
security
    patches, they have much better security records than IIS and are
    not under active attack by the vast number of virus and worm
writers.

Apache, of course, is not a "vendor," but we'll let that pass.  It's a
slow process, but the corporate world is beginning to figure out that
free software offers some real security advantages.

It is important, too, that web servers are the subject of this
discussion.
Some have claimed that Linux is free of email viruses only because, as
an obscure (on the desktop) platform, it is not an interesting target
for virus authors.  But Apache is the dominant web server platform;
anybody wishing to attack large numbers of systems via a web server
would look at Apache first.  The "obscure and uninteresting" argument
will not wash here.

...


--
Karl Vogel                <vogelke@d...>
ASC/YCOA, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433, USA

The man who sets out to carry a cat by its tail learns something that
will always be useful and which never will grow dim or doubtful.  --
Mark Twain
--- End forwarded message ---