Something only WIndows can do ! ( possibly!!!!)

[#1]

My thruppeny-bits worth.

The software that went wrong broke Windows (prevented it from booting). The structure of the OS (Windows) allowed it to do so. In some circles of IT that could be termed as a "deadly embrace".

[#2]

One big security difference as far as I can see, between Windows and Linux, is that Linux is "locked down", and will not allow ant software to be installed without the user expressly permitting it by putting in their password, whereas Windows is "all open" and will install anything if an .EXE is clicked on.

This is how Windows users can inadvertently install malicious software, by clicking on links in an email for exmple.

I don't think that can happen in Linux?

I am referring here to the desktop version of Linux, not Android.

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[#3]

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@7up wrote:

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I still use W7 myself on both of my PCs. The small single core machine and my larger 8 core machine. Both are 64bit and so in theory could continue generating clock ticks for billions of years. Whats the point upgrading? I don't like Win8 or 10, they just seem a bit odd to me.

Win7 is nice but I'll admit i'm struggling for AV - Avast doesn't like win7 anymore so if you have any recommendations..

As for linux, most people don't use it because of the learning curve. Android is linux.. and look how many phones have been breached over the years via dodgy apps etc. No point making linux out to be squeeky clean, it can also go wrong too.

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Since when? I admit to not having fired the W7 machine up for a month  or so, but the last time I did, Avast happily updated itself - a version update, not just virus signatures.

Agree with @RobPN though - if the Windows security kit still works, it is as good as Avast - and possibly less prone to fibbing about the 'security' of your system. I ignore its dire warnings, but they are still annoying.

As to bricked Android devices, that is probably down to people installing apps from sources not fully tested. On my machine, which is Linux , not Android, only apps from trusted sources are used. 99.99% are from the official Zorin repositories, and the balance from approved Linux sources - all of which go through rigorous approval procedures.

[#4]

Good point, @Mr_Paul , although you can still install (or attempt to) unapproved apps, but will get strong warnings that they can break your system.

[#5]

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@Mr_Paul wrote:

One big security difference as far as I can see, between Windows and Linux, is that Linux is "locked down", and will not allow ant software to be installed without the user expressly permitting it by putting in their password, whereas Windows is "all open" and will install anything if an .EXE is clicked on.

This is how Windows users can inadvertently install malicious software, by clicking on links in an email for exmple..

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Tell that to my windows 2012 server which won't let me run any type of executable unless i grant administrative privileges to it.

[#6]

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@bighairysmile wrote:

My thruppeny-bits worth.

The software that went wrong broke Windows (prevented it from booting). The structure of the OS (Windows) allowed it to do so.

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Microsoft would say the EU is to blame.

[#7]

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@Mr_Paul wrote:

One big security difference as far as I can see, between Windows and Linux, is that Linux is "locked down", and will not allow ant software to be installed without the user expressly permitting it by putting in their password, whereas Windows is "all open" and will install anything if an .EXE is clicked on.

This is how Windows users can inadvertently install malicious software, by clicking on links in an email for exmple..

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That may've been true waaaay back but I'd guess for at least a decade what you suggest woud trigger the Windows UAC:

Yes, it's easy to click through, no, it doesn't ask for a password, but it should give pause for thought.

I don't think that can happen in Linux?

I am referring here to the desktop version of Linux, not Android.

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I have a Raspberry Pi 4 here (running headless): after installing whatever version of Raspbian was current at the time I quickly discovered my user could use sudo to do anything without authentication (don't know if that was the case for the 'Desktop' too, though). Perhaps it was considered an acceptable trade-off in the context of a classroom full of young-ish kids.

Haven't come across such a default configuration on any other distro I've used.

[#8]

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@7up wrote
Tell that to my windows 2012 server which won't let me run any type of executable unless i grant administrative privileges to it.

Yikes!! You mean every executable on your server is running with admin privileges?

No, I don't think you do 😊

[#9]

@TheRoadCrew 

"That may've been true waaaay back but I'd guess for at least a decade what you suggest woud trigger the Windows UAC:"

Ah, OK.

I haven't used Windows as my desktop OS for about 15 years, since soon after Win7 was released and it "broke" my printer/scanner.

My only access to Windows now is via a WinToUSB installation of Win11 that I can boot in to if I really need a particular piece of software that I have neither found a suitable Linux alternative for, nor got running under Linux Wine. From memory, for the past few years that has only been the channel editing software for our Sony TV! I still boot into it every few months or so, but only to install Windows Updates, which I don't think will trigger that UAC warning?

"my user could use sudo to do anything without authentication"

sudo is the command to make the current user temporarily "Super User" - ie root.

I assume that as your RaspberryPi is running headless, that you SSH in to it? If so, are you sure that at no point you either made yourself "root", or entered a password? Becoming the root user would make all following commands have admin rights.

I don't have my Pi available to test on at the moment, but when I SSH'd in to my Netgear ReadyNAS, (which also runs a version of Linux), the first command that I use is prefixed by "sudo", ie:

sudo ssh 192.168.1.xx

It then asks me for my desktop PC's password, and then after a few seconds it asks for the ReadyNAS's password, (which is different). After that, all commands are executed with root (admin) access.

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[#10]

That may've been true waaaay back but I'd guess for at least a decade what you suggest woud trigger the Windows UAC:

Yes, it's easy to click through, no, it doesn't ask for a password, but it should give pause for thought.

Absolutely correct BUT the problem is that so many routine actions trigger the UAC so that clicking through becomes 'normal' and so when the one that causes the probelm appears, no notice is taken!

[#11]

Or, and I don't know if it is still possible, but ISTR switching off UAC on my mums machine. I know someone will say 'you shouldn't do that' , but the way that machine was managed, it caused no issues that I was aware of.

[#12]

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@Mr_Paul wrote:

@TheRoadCrew 

"my user could use sudo to do anything without authentication"

I assume that as your RaspberryPi is running headless, that you SSH in to it? If so, are you sure that at no point you either made yourself "root", or entered a password? .

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Yes, I was using ssh to log in: the culprit was this file

waldo@pi4:~ $ sudo cat /etc/sudoers.d/010_pi-nopasswd~ 
[sudo] password for waldo:  
waldo ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL

After appending a tilde (~) to the file name normal service was resumed

[#13]

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@jab1 wrote:

Or, and I don't know if it is still possible, but ISTR switching off UAC on my mums machine. I know someone will say 'you shouldn't do that' , but the way that machine was managed, it caused no issues that I was aware of.

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UAC should be off by default, I know of no situation, either personal or commercial, where it’s remotely useful. Another annoying problem is continually being told you have no rights in certain directories when your account has full admin rights.

[#14]

I think many people in this thread need to remember that there is no such thing as perfection.

I've had numerous jobs over the years, all with their own different IT systems, none were great, many had bugs, IT managers that didn't give a damn about fixing things etc.

I only worked in one place where the IT programmer was actually helpful.

You lot are talking about entire operating systems, many of which are coded at a level of programming most of you wouldn't even understand.

Windows may not be perfect but it has given us a lot of advancements in the field of IT, gaming, hardware etc. Like it or not, MS spend millions developing this stuff and supporting it. Linux... well... yeah it's a great community effort, tech support is kind of there but it's still a very steep learning curve.

[#15]

@7up 

"Linux... well... yeah it's a great community effort, tech support is kind of there but it's still a very steep learning curve."

That is a comment I read a lot about Linux, but I don't see it myself. As I have said elsewhere in this thread, I first started using, and then moved completely over to Linux about 15 years ago, and don't recall having many issues, either then or now.

Admittedly I already had a technical background at the time, though in TV broadcasting not IT, which may have helped a bit - but my I don't think that my IT skills were particularly different from the average person.

My son also uses Linux and he is definitely not of a technical background - in fact he has some learning difficulties, yet he has set up multiple Virtual Machines on his desktop PC and has done a lot of his own configurations to set his machine up exactly to his liking, (no input from me).

That said, I started out at the beginning using Ubuntu and later moved to Linux Mint - probably two of the most popular and best supported distros I think? I do know that some distros, eg Arch, have a bit of a reputation for being difficult to set up and configure the first time.

Certainly Linux can be difficult, if you want it to be and insist on using the command line for everything, (some people do!), but I have found an online solution to just about every issue I have ever had with Linux, which invariably is just a copy/paste of an instruction.

So, what is with Linux that prompts its apparent reputation of being "a very steep learning curve"?

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