Is the Linux Desktop less secure than Windows 10? [pdf]

Post by bigbugbag » Mon, Feb 06, 2017, 1:48 PM UTC

nottorp wrote: post #35

Hmm. If i look at the slides, the article should be renamed "gstreamer, and some stuff browsers on all platforms do, are insecure"? Is it easier to change your media player on Linux, or to trust Microsoft? Say, does a default Windows install still enable 20 networked services that don't belong on a home computer and can be exploited without the user downloading anything?

Post by digi_owl » Mon, Feb 06, 2017, 1:50 PM UTC

c3833174 wrote: post #110

throwanem wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Windows does it, too, I guess No, it generates thumbnails outside the main UI thread; sometimes it's a bit slow in so doing, but I've never seen it hang an Explorer window, regardless of file size or quantity. (Windows 7, but it would astonish me to learn that 10 displays a regression here.)

That's not the problem, most DE file managers use an external process too (via dbus), but it's still slow, even on an SSD or when the cache has alredy been generated. They're also buggy, XFCEs thumbnailer thumblerd (also used in LXDE and probably others) used to have memory leaks when it encountered video files with unknown codecs, newer versions re-scan the entire cache every time you delete/move a directory, making…

Post by digi_owl » Mon, Feb 06, 2017, 1:51 PM UTC

throwaway1023 wrote: post #102

SwellJoe wrote: post #41

It's interesting that the problems are all with things that I actively dislike about the modern Linux desktop. I mean, I guess it's OK that it creates thumbnails of images...but, the tendency to grind away for seconds whenever opening a big folder (Windows does it, too, I guess) is just annoying. I end up using command line most of the time for file management tasks because it's too slow and cumbersome to use the UI.…

Just a small comment on why the desktop environment might need to parse such a file: How about sorting music files according to their real length? Many desktop environments support such a feature, and users like those features, too.

Post by bigbugbag » Mon, Feb 06, 2017, 1:54 PM UTC

TheManuell wrote: post #17

About the $10K: don't forget that the french Gendarmerie runs on Ubuntu. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GendBuntu

Post by wander_homer » Mon, Feb 06, 2017, 1:58 PM UTC

AsyncAwait wrote: post #81

sytelus wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 3rd party software is huge problem, actually. When you do apt-get or install using Ubuntu App Store it gives a false sense of security to novice user that things are safe. This is even more problematic because there are so many things one needs to download on default desktop to be on par with default Windows. The File Manager UI, for example, lacks too many features and user must investigate alternatives and eith…

> it gives a false sense of security Why is getting the latest security updates giving a false sense of security exactly? > The File Manager UI, for example, lacks too many features and user must investigate alternatives and either assume that everything is all right or deeply examine security vulnerabilities for each available option. Same goes for basic things like text editor or calculator and so on. This is where…