RE: [gentoo-user] antivirus

["Bob Young" <BYoung@nucoretech.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tim Igoe [mailto:tim@igoe.me.uk]
> Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2006 11:36 AM
> To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
> Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] antivirus
> 
> A windows `Power User` is too privileged for most uses. 

What rights/privledges does a powerUser have that you believe are "too privledged?"

I've run my Windows systems as a PowerUser for years and they've always remained clean and stable, even without using antivirus software.


> Ideally Windows
> would be great if it followed the Linux way of working more - install as
> Admin (thats fine imo) but run as a completely unprivileged (guest or
> standard) user.

I disagree, I'd much rather have more than two different types of users, (God and everyone else). I prefer "Guest" to have different privledges than a "regular" user, and an anonymous internet visitor to have a different set from either of those, while more technicaly savy and trusted users might be given a PowerUser account.


> I've had problems with windows machines not running software as
> unprivileged users before now. Causes too many problems due to the
> access and thus viruses / malware that get installed.

Yes, there are some poorly designed programs that insist on Admin rights, but I'm not aware of any such cases that won't function properly when executed with RunAs. I think it's way better to have one or two applications running with Admin privledges than everything including browsers and email executing with Admin rights. 

Beyond that, just a PowerUser account having write access to some files under the system folder does not automatically mean that external malicious forces, i.e. malware authors, can actually successfuly modify them. It's still required that the user do something to cause some untrusted script or code to execute. If scripting isn't enabled in the browser, and the user doesn't open unknown/unexpected/untrusted attachments, there isn't really any viable way for malware to be installed.

I'm sorry to be arguing positively for Windows on a Gentoo list, I do use Gentoo and it is my favorite Linux distro, I've just never been able to muster up blind dislike for any computer operating system. I try to look at the pros and cons of a particular feature's implementation, and judge it objectively. I don't always come down in favor of Windows, or Linux, it just depends on the particular functionality being discussed.

Regards,
Bob Young



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