[sudo-users] Mostly-OT: Linux as a Desktop OS

[David Ledger]

At 15:49 -0700 18/5/09, Russell Van Tassell wrote:
>Really only relevant because sudo is called-out by name... Why Linux
>sucks as a desktop OS...
>
>
>  /. - http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/18/0710208&from=rss
>
>Real article:
>
>   http://linuxfonts.narod.ru/why.linux.is.not.ready.for.the.desktop.html
>
>
>OB Sudo:
>
>12. Bad security model: there's zero protection against keyboard
>     keyloggers and against running malicious software (Linux is viruses
>     free only due to its extremely low popularity). sudo is very easy
>     to circumvent (social engineering). sudo still requires CLI (see
>     clause 4.).
>
>[...]
>
>4. It should be possible to configure *everything* via GUI which is
>    still not a case for too many situations and operations.

Would you even listen to the opinion of someone who thinks 
*everything* should have a GUI?

Linux & Unix are more secure than some other OSs because the security 
model is the correct way round. The system runs with full privilege 
and the decisions as to what can be done by the unprivileged are made 
by something that has privilege and is protected by that privileged 
system. Some other OSs run unprivileged and have an unprivileged 
accessible way of obtaining privilege. Not secure. He even admits 
that sudo is only vulnerable to social engineering. What isn't?

David


-- 
David Ledger - Freelance Unix Sysadmin in the UK.
HP-UX specialist of hpUG technical user group (www.hpug.org.uk)
david.ledger at ivdcs.co.uk
www.ivdcs.co.uk