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Google ditches Windows on security concerns

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Re: Google ditches Windows on security concerns

#121

Post by whatusername »

moe wrote: post #49
Niten wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it does. Recent versions of Windows (Vista and especially 7) have had security track records at least on par with OS X and desktop Linux. Mac OS X hasn't been doing terribly well lately, and Apple is notoriously slow to patch known security flaws, e.g.: http://bit.ly/62bTNQ I'd provide a link to hard data, but for some reason Secunia's taken down their list of unpatched vulnerabilities in OS X (?!), even though…

Sorry, but that simply doesn't matter. Case in point, OSX even had more security advisories published than windows for a while, yet the "experts" still mostly agree OSX is the safer platform; http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10444561-245.html?tag=rtco... There's a very simple reason: OSX has around 6% market share, Windows around 80%. Go figure which platform the kids are going to target for the time being. Also fee…

>>which platform the major, semi-automated botnets (Storm, Zeus) are running.

Let me guess - not Windows 7.

Re: Google ditches Windows on security concerns

#122

Post by fragmede »

brown9-2 wrote: post #72
jrockway wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is how big companies work. They want even the smallest task (like, "viewing documentation for the product we just bought") to take days and require multiple levels of managerial approval. Because I guess it's cheaper to have 10 employees doing the same job than it is to get sued if one employee posts confidential information to a blog, or something. (If you've ever wondered why you only get 0.00025% interest on…

who do you think runs Google - the programmers or the IT staff?

Sales. Google is an ad-company after all. There was little interest in Gmail until contextual ads were brought into the picture.

Re: Google ditches Windows on security concerns

#123

Post by pmjordan »

jimbokun wrote: post #68
yummyfajitas wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While this move may prevent infection by FR33_PR0N.wmv.exe, I don't see how it will prevent being hacked by China (the major concern).

I believe the Chinese government has Windows source code, and Google does not. The Darwin and BSD layers of Mac OS X are open source, so Google can at least study the code to understand the security implications of using OS X. In other words, with open source Google is on a more level playing field against potential attackers.

I'd be extremely surprised if Google didn't have access to the Windows source via Microsoft's shared source programme.

Re: Google ditches Windows on security concerns

#124

Post by stcredzero »

dejb wrote: post #37

The danger here is that they will lose touch with the 80% of their user base that uses windows. If they don't have enough people who intimately understand the computing experience of their users then their products could suffer.

Exactly this happened at a company I worked for! The engineers were too snobbish to use Windows, sticking with their Solaris and Linux boxen instead. Result? Windows user experience sucked. Further result -- Windows workstations forced on the engineers. Further result -- "Hey, this thing really does suck on Windows!"

Re: Google ditches Windows on security concerns

#126

Post by stcredzero »

thought_alarm wrote: post #11
redstripe wrote: post #8

The big hack was apparently based on a zero day IE flaw. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/01/hack-of-adob Wouldn't it be easier to make their employees use chrome?

Sure, but there's only one way to completely uninstall IE and it sounds like that's exactly what they're doing.

This isn't true. Off the top of my head, Google could replace the executables (incl. DLLs) with ones that do nothing but throw up a "disabled" sign. (Which would also take care of OLE/ActiveX embedding of IE in other apps.) I see below that there are better ways of doing this from more Windows savvy folks.

Re: Google ditches Windows on security concerns

#128

Post by naz »

jlmendezbonini wrote: post #86
pook wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More importantly but less vociferously, by Google switching to an open source OS, it means anyone, anywhere, can fix vulnerabilities. Not just Google. Considering the difficulty of patching security holes in proprietary software versus patching holes in open software, Google indeed would hugely benefit by drastically reducing the difference between the cost of defense and the cost of cracking. It's not so much levell…

Switching to an open source OS? OSX is a mix between open and closed source software where quite a bit of its open source code is not updated frequently. Google can't patch Preview, Quicktime, Safari or any other closed source program develop by Apple. Also, Apple is not famous for quickly patching OSX[1]. Quoting Charlie Miller[2,3]: "Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks, and Windows i…

Google employees probably won't be using Safari but it is 95% open source (WebKit). iTunes would be a better example.

Re: Google ditches Windows on security concerns

#130

Post by RyanMcGreal »

chancho wrote: post #69
RyanMcGreal wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mac OSX is inferior from a security standpoint, but enjoys herd immunity so the actual risk of infection is lower.

Herd immunity? That's a pretty bad metaphor. There is not "safety in numbers" on the Mac. Safety comes from their lack of numbers. Unless you meant to imply that Macs are like the kids at school whose dipshit parents don't vaccinate them.

Herd immunity doesn't mean "safety in numbers". It means insulation from transmission vectors because the rest of the herd is immune from diseases that might infect you. An isolated OSX machine surrounded by Windows machines in a network is relatively isolated from virus transmission vectors.

Then again, Jeff Goldblum was able to write a virus on his Mac that he used to infect the alien mothership, so maybe they're not so secure after all...

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