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Linux is evil

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Steve Conner

Sat May 06 2006, 08:09PM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

Would Damn Small Linux be a folding bike? Or a Fiat 500?

Bj0rn: Let's not go down the Bush bashing road. I won't say that I disagree with your view on politics (on the one hand, I voted for Tony Blair once, on the other hand, I sure regret it now) but bringing up that sort of stuff will just lead to flaming.

Chris Russell

Sat May 06 2006, 10:07PM

... not Russel!
Registered Member #1 Joined: Thu Jan 26 2006, 12:18AM
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Posts: 1052

Steve Conner wrote ...

There are other editors than vi, but I always got the impression you need to know vi if you want to do anything serious, like run a Linux system with no X windows, or get your X working if it's not. It seems to be the equivalent of "edit" that came with MS-DOS: the one text editor that you can count on being available no matter how borked your box gets.

I use linux almost exclusively now, and I honestly don't have a clue how to use emacs or vi. I've always used pico (now called nano). It's the one that I found to be the most intuitive and useful. However, simply because *I* found that it works better for *me* doesn't mean that it's better overall, just better for me. The same applies to the whole "which OS is better" debate. Use whichever one works for you, and try not to make a crusade out of it.

My laptop dual-boots WinXP and Ubuntu linux. Since the latest Ubuntu came out, all my hardware is supported 100%, but I do still boot into Windows when: 1) I want to use a program for which no equivalent exists in Linux, such as Google Earth, or Spectrum Lab, or, 2) I am in a damn hurry, and I need my OS to load in less than 30 seconds. WinXP recovers from hibernate much, much faster than Ubuntu.

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Sun May 07 2006, 06:43AM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

i read the thread to find out WHY Linux was evil, but I can see all there is, is a BIAS here, so I'm sticking with what I can handle which is XP.

Such a shame, could have been informal. Lock the damn thread.

Bjørn

Sun May 07 2006, 07:08AM

Registered Member #27 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 02:20AM
Location: Hyperborea
Posts: 2058

Well... It is a humour thread, it is just not good at it.

The only way you can find out if Linux is useful for you is to try it for yourself. A good tip is to find someone that uses it every day that you can ask questions so you don't get stumped by beginner problems.

...

Sun May 07 2006, 07:24AM

Registered Member #56 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445

well since you asked and I am bored... I will try to explain with Linux is evil using all of the bs tactics I have learned...

Since securety seems to be a big thing these days, lets start with that. Everyone SAYS that Linux is very secure, but they are just trying to scare hackers from hacking in because they KNOW that a 15 year old could break into their systems. This is because all of the source code of Linux has leaked, so hackers know what all of the security measures are, and thus how to get around them. And to make matters worse there are NO firewalls available that have not had their source code compromised available for it. This makes for a VERY vulnerable system. In fact the makers of Linux designed it so 'you' can remotely connect, but (because of the compromised security) anyone with 3 brain cells can connect to a Linux box from anywhere in the world--and you never know about it, they connect completely secretly! This means that Al Qaeda could be connecting into the pentagon (which is using a modified type Linux) and getting our sensitive information without use even knowing it! Ever wonder why they are always one step ahead of us? They could even be hacking into our tax systems and stealing YOUR money! See, the government using linux is taking money out of YOUR POCKET
And since it is like 12:30 in the morning here I am going to have to stop there...

Carbon_Rod

Sun May 07 2006, 09:20AM

Registered Member #65 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:43AM
Location:
Posts: 1155

Well I would like to say your wrong â€“ but you are not aware why you are right.

There have been buffer overflow, user promotion, and routing code exploits. However, almost 99.999% Linux FUD out there is usually related to user space applications breaking something. There is only 1 known true lab based virus that can harm Linux and it must be loaded. The Mandatory Access Control schemes, thread safe libraries, and ROM based boot media make Linux as strong as the administrators. As for source code exploits â€“ several thousand people review the SHA cryptographic signature verified code base for possible vulnerabilities. This is why there is a zero tolerance for binaries in the Linux kernel development as to prevent a trapdoor compiler from entering into the community (it has been tried before and the trusted member was caught.) If you were referring to Ubuntuâ€™s root password issue â€“ that has been fixed too (often automatically updated with newer package managers.)

Remote access is usually given out as decoy over a state monitored latency compensated Network Bridge to monitor activity of clients and routers on a lab network. Itâ€™s like flypaper for dumb people. For instance itâ€™s the same thing as thinking a system is a 1995 windows box with Sock 1 running file and print sharing. Its great bait for finding out peoplesâ€™ intentions. Otherwise known as a honey pot.

Admins these days use port knocking, port stealth, and encrypted tunnel connections (some networks use a private xor key on top of regular encryption.) These systems are invisible to non-trusted hosts and also need a key.

Besides its open source â€“ the licence requires if you find a problem and fix it you must share. As for firewall options for linux â€“ first guess which one, second wait for it, third your IP and routing signature is now banned!

I suppose one could stick with XPs Zonealarm ICQ exploits and Sony root kits, or BSD and Apples â€œignoreâ€ it and it will go away policy (its called denial people -- ask Gates.)

Something to think about during reinstalls.

Steve Conner

Sun May 07 2006, 06:15PM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

As you can see from Carbon_Rod and ...'s posts, both sides use the open source thing as a stick to beat each other with. I personally agree with Carbon_Rod, that having the source available actually makes for a stronger system.

Take the RSA encryption that you use when you buy things online. The RSA algorithm is published in the open literature, so everyone knows how it works and how to crack it. In theory. The catch of course is that cracking it takes about 10 years and there are no known weaknesses that can be exploited to speed it up. There is actually a cash prize for the first hacker to break it, and I think it might still be unclaimed.

I believe that Linux is much more secure than Windows by the same argument, and also because I've read about a lot of shocking design "features" in the NT/2000/XP kernel that seriously compromise security.

My new PC is going to dual boot XP and the Studio-To-Go Linux distro. I just bought a copy of XP on Friday.

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Sun May 07 2006, 07:52PM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

I'd just like to say that in all of the years that I've run Windows systems, '98 was by far the worst thing I've ever run (but then again Norton is notorious for BREAKING the system! how was I supposed to know, I believed what I was told! GGGRRR!!!)

And that a virus has comprimised my system twice, both from email I DIDN'T open! (thanks dad)

Simon

Mon May 08 2006, 01:26AM

Registered Member #32 Joined: Sat Feb 04 2006, 08:58AM
Location: Australia
Posts: 549

pico is just a simple text editor. You type, so it's like DOS Edit or Notepad.

vi is also a text editor but with loads of fancy shortcut keys that let you do things like rip out everything up to the third instance of the word "the", jump three pages and dump that text four times after the second semicolon in just a few keystrokes.

I use vi exclusively. Having used it a lot I'm used to it and it's faster to use. It's an example of the whole Unix philosophy: make everything hard to learn and understand, but really efficient for when you finally understand it.

Steve Conner

Tue May 09 2006, 09:24AM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

You mean "If" you finally understand it

I just tried vi again the other day and couldn't remember a damn thing apart from ":q" to abandon what you're doing and quit. Probably my favourite vi command, that one. :P

I guess from what Chris is saying, the guys who make Linux distros are starting to supply a pico clone, so that makes me happy.

BTW, I like Win98SE a lot. I suppose it's the OS equivalent of a Geo Metro, and an 8 year old second-hand one at that. But I've worked with it for years and I know how to wrench out the back seats and any unnecessary trim, swap in the engine from a Geo Storm, and do donuts round the car park

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