Linux vs Windows - who wins ?

[phenomlab]

During an unrelated discussion today, I was asked why I preferred Linux over Windows. The most obvious responses are that Linux does not have any licensing costs (perhaps not the case entirely with RHEL) and is capable of running on hardware much older than Windows10 will readily accept (or run on without acting like a snail). The other seeking point for Linux is that it’s the backbone of most web servers these days running either Apache or NGINX.

The remainder of the discussion centered around the points below;

• Linux is pretty secure out of the box (based on the fact that most distros update as part of the install process), whilst Windows, well, isn’t. Admittedly, there’s an argument for both sides of the fence here - the most common being that Windows is more of a target because of its popularity and market presence - in other words, malware, ransomware, and “whatever-other-nasty-ware” (you fill in the blanks) are typically designed for the Windows platform in order to increase the success and hit rate of any potential campaign to it’s full potential.

• Windows is also a monolithic kernel, meaning it’s installed in it’s entirety regardless of the hardware it sits on. What makes Linux unique is that each module is compiled based on the hardware in the system, so no “bloat” - you are also free to modify the system directly if you don’t like the layout or material design that the developer provided.

• Linux is far superior in the security space. Windows only acquired “run as” in Windows XP, and a “reasonable” UAC environment (the reference to “reasonable” is loose, as it relates to Windows Vista). However, Microsoft were very slow to the gate with this - it’s something that Unix has had for years.

• Possibly the most glaring security hole in Windows systems (in terms of NTFS) is that it can be easily read by the EXT file system in Linux (but not the other way round). And let’s not forget the fact that it’s a simple exercise to break the SAM database on a Windows install with Linux, and reset the local admin account.

• Linux enjoys an open source community where issues reported are often picked up extremely quickly by developers all over the world, resolved, and an update issued to multiple repositories to remediate the issue.

• Windows cannot be run from a DVD or thumb drive. Want to use it ? You’ll have to install it

Linux isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I for one absolutely refuse to buy into the Microsoft ecosystem on a personal level - particularly using an operating system that by default doesn’t respect privacy. And no prizes for guessing what my take on Apple is - it’s essentially BSD in an expensive suit.

However, since COVID, I am in fact using Windows 11 at home, but that’s only for the integration. If I had the choice, I would be using Linux. There are a number of applications which I’d consider core that just do not work properly under Linux, and that’s the only real reason as to why I made the decision (somewhat resentfully) to move back to Windows on the home front.

Here’s a thought to leave you with. How many penetration testers do you know that use Windows for vulnerability assessments ?

This isn’t meant to be an “operating system war”. It’s a debate

[Madchatthew]

I agree with you. I believe Linux is actually far superior than Windows. How many companies running Linux were shut down when CrowdStrike update occurred. To my knowledge, Zero! If more people switched to Linux I think more software companies would start creating software for Linux. One of the downfalls regarding that is that there are so many flavors of Linux, which one do you build your software to work with? There would almost have to be an official flavor or two perhaps.

Linux isn’t perfect either, but try leaving windows running for 180 days straight and see what happens to Linux running 180 days straight. I do like how Linux is secure right out of the box unlike Windows. I like to play games and unfortunately the games I like to play don’t always run on Linux. But I just may have to just change the games that I play and if those companies want me to play their games, then they should make it so I can do that on Linux.

Eventually I won’t have a choice but to install and run Linux. My current computer isn’t compatible with Windows 11 - which by the was really stupid of them to force people to by new computers if they want to run windows 11 - so when Windows 10 is booted down the road, I will have no choice but to switch. So at that point if games don’t work I won’t be playing them if I can’t get them to work.

[phenomlab]

@Madchatthew said in Linux vs Windows - who wins ?:

How many companies running Linux were shut down when CrowdStrike update occurred. To my knowledge, Zero!

This is true - see node from Crowdstrike’s CEO below

However, there were some limited instances where Linux did crash owing a Kernel bug involving BPF, although this did not affect the Falcon senser running at Kernel level

Eventually I won’t have a choice but to install and run Linux. My current computer isn’t compatible with Windows 11 - which by the was really stupid of them to force people to by new computers if they want to run windows 11 - so when Windows 10 is booted down the road, I will have no choice but to switch. So at that point if games don’t work I won’t be playing them if I can’t get them to work.

Yes, Windows 11 certainly changed the roadmap in terms of the hardware it will run on. This in itself is enough to turn away a significant user base who will likely turn to Linux to further sweat the hardware they already have.

[Madchatthew]

@phenomlab said in Linux vs Windows - who wins ?:

@Madchatthew said in Linux vs Windows - who wins ?:
However, there were some limited instances where Linux did crash owing a Kernel bug involving BPF, although this did not affect the Falcon senser running at Kernel level

So there were some Linux systems affected. I am wondering if that was based on when they have their updates run. So if updating would have waited a week, then it wouldn’t have affected them?

It would also be interesting to see what they had to do to fix and get Linux back up and running again. I may have to google that and see what I can find for the fix.

[phenomlab]

@Madchatthew I’m not sure. I think there may have been limited exposure to be fair - just obviously not to the extend that it impacted 8.6m Windows based systems. There’s an interesting thread here where myself, @JAC and @crazycells discuss the fact that some organisations didn’t feel any impact - because they were running Windows 3.11!!

https://sudonix.org/topic/640/global-it-outage/18?_=1722957949138

[Madchatthew]

@phenomlab Oh that is awesome! I love windows 3.11. I remember networking computers together with coaxial cable and making sure the end ones were terminated. All the computers running windows 3.11 and setting up email to be sent between the computers. Man those were the good ole days!

[phenomlab]

@Madchatthew Oh yes, the nostalgia! - BNC networks with 10BaseT connectors, and as soon as you powered off one PC in the chain, the remainder also went offline!

That, and the TCP/IP wrapper for Windows 3.11 that was on separate floppy disks…

The younger members of this forum will no doubt be scratching their heads with confusion - I guess we’re a pair of fossils!

[Madchatthew]

@phenomlab LOL ah yes, I remember all of that. The good ole days!