Case Study 2: Computer Security, Ethics, and Privacy
by Mohd Asri bin Jusoh
You work as a network analyst for Kolej Profesional MARA Indera Mahkota that uses Windows Vista. After the most recent virus attack, your manager asks you to analyze the feasibility of switching to different operating system, such as Linux or UNIX. Use the Web and/or print media to research the advantages and disadvantages of switching operating system. Create a report based on your finding to answer the following questions:
1) A) Are the alternative operating systems any less susceptible to virus than
Windows Vista. (2 marks)
I am a network analyst for KPM Indera Mahkota. After the recent virus attack, I am making an investigation to find and analyze the feasibility to switch to different operating system after using Microsoft Vista. Based on my deep research regarding the operating system, I can make a conclusion that Linux is less susceptible to virus than Windows Vista. Hence, I suggest that our company should switch to another operating system which is Linux.
B) Why or why not? (6 marks)
Few years before, when Microsoft launch Vista as their new product, they claimed that Vista is the most secure operating system ever. For evidence, Bill Gates in a RSA Conference in San Jose in 2006 said that the operating system has been hailed by Microsoft as the most secure version of Windows to date. However, recent research conducted with statistics from over 1.4 million computers within the ThreatFire community has shown that Windows Vista is more susceptible to malware than the eight year old Windows 2000 operating system, and only 37% more secure than Windows XP.
Linux is considered as safer and more secure than Windows because there are many more Windows systems in the world, there are simply more targets available for attack. Hence, many malware developers believe that Windows, such as Microsoft Vista, is a richer and more attractive target. The security differences between Windows and Linux are heavily debated and the security track record of both operating systems has proven Linux has fewer serious vulnerabilities. Linux also derives its security from the underlying UNIX design philosophy.
According to some security researchers, the "Windows monoculture" contributes to disproportionate levels of malware exposure: because Windows systems are all tightly binary-compatible, a single successful attack can affect a large fraction of them whereas different Linux distributions are more loosely coupled with source compatibility and different selections of software. Thus, even if the software were equally buggy, the chance of a single bug affecting all Linux computers is reduced.
Another reason why Linux is safer than Vista is because Antivirus and anti-spyware applications are not necessary on Linux boxes, but are essentially required on Vista machines. Granted, one of the reasons Linux is so secure is because malware developers are specifically targeting Windows operating systems and Windows applications. That still doesn't change the fact that Linux users do not have to worry about inadvertently downloading spyware, and sysadmins don't log hours cleaning the latest worm off Linux machines.
2) What is Microsoft’s approach to eliminating virus attacks? (6 marks)
In computers, a virus is a program or programming code that replicates by being copied or initiating its copying to another program, computer boot sector or document. Viruses can be transmitted as attachments to an e-mail note or in a downloaded file, or be present on a diskette or CD. Viruses are a fact of life as more of our computing activity involves an active Internet connection. Luckily, antivirus software is evolving just as quickly, and you can now get solid antivirus software for free.
Microsoft provides an antivirus and anti-spyware application known as Microsoft Security Essentials. The application is a free download and will protect your computer from viruses and fix those already on your computer. Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. Plus, it also runs quietly and efficiently in the background so that the users are free to use their Windows-based PC the way they want, without interruptions or long buffering computer wait times.
Other than that, Microsoft also offers Windows Firewall. It will monitor all network traffic on the connections for which it is enabled. As a matter of fact, the firewall keeps track of all communications that have originated from your computer, and it prevents unsolicited traffic from reaching your computer. If necessary, the firewall dynamically opens ports and allows your computer to receive traffic that you have specifically requested, such as a Web page for which you have clicked the address. A "port" is a networking term that identifies the point at which a type of network traffic reaches your computer. The exact ports that you open depend on the type of traffic you want to send and receive.
What types of costs are involved in changing operating systems? (6 marks)