how much more secure is linux actually ?if we compare linux with mac os x and windows?

Question

how much more secure is linux actually ?if we compare linux with mac os x and windows?
so how much better security linux has then?what are linux biggest security flaws /issues ?and why linux has got better security than mac os x and windows

Answer 1

Unix was designed back in the late 60's. Linux is modeled after it, so effectively the security of Linux has been tested, and improved over 45 years.



The most basic security was added to Windows in 1995 (all it did was ask for a password, but you could just bypass it, so it really did nothing). Even today Windows is at least 10 years behind the curve. The security model of Windows causes more problems for the user than it does for the attacker.



OS-x is also modeled after Unix.

Answer 2

Linux was designed with security from the ground up. With Windows, security is an afterthought, and Microsoft has spent years patching and fixing the mess they made. Also, windows is a HUGE bloated code base, and that alone makes it more vulnerable. There are many more places were vulnerabilities can exist.



It is very difficult to compromise a linux box. The user has ZERO write privileges into any system directories, and there is no registry to bloat and compromise. The very design of linux makes it almost impossible to compromise. The design of of Windows makes it very easy to compromise.



Linux is much more secure than Windows because of the design. It was built from the ground up to be secure. Windows was not.

Answer 3

A hacker has to be physically present to break into Linux, unlike Windows (which has a security setup that is inherently flawed - makes it relatively easy to break in remotely). While both have an admin mode and a restricted user mode, running Windows as a restricted user is such a pain-in-the-*ss that very few do that - they run as admin, which means that when an attacher fools a Windows user, he gets all the access he needs to compromise the machine. Not so in Linux, where you always run as restricted, and doing admin-level things is properly but effortlessly protected.

Answer 4

I want to preface this answer with the following -> I like Linux. I'm using it right now.



With that said:



Linux is really only more "secure" because Microsoft Windows is a bigger target.

Answer 5

The entire world is allowed to edit their GNU/Linux OS, so if they find a security breach, they can fix it themselves, or report it to whomever is in control of the distribution. If a fix made available, it can be made compatible will all linux systems, or even mac and windows systems.

Answer 6

any osx guru will tell you macs are just as secure as linux, its just that they don't come set-up to be.there are over 1100 unix,linux open bsd commands that work on macs so they can be set up pretty tight security wise if you know how to do it.

Answer 7

Nothing is 100% perfect safe, you still need to make yourself the real owner of your machine, device and alike.