Writing this website everyday, it seems like not one day goes by where we are not posting about a new vulnerability found in a Microsoft product such as Windows XP or Office. I don't believe for a minute that the people who are finding these vulnerabilities are not giving equal attention to other operating systems as well, so really the main reason we hear so much about Windows security problems is probably because it is less secure. (Mind you, at least we seem to be getting many more updates now.)
No surprises here that in a recent survey developers rated Linux as much more secure than Windows.
The company polled 6,344 software-development managers to better understand how they perceive security in a number of different areas. "We wanted to know what people thought needed to be done to clean up the operating systems and platforms on which they work," says Alan Zeichick, executive VP of BZ Media. The company, which publishes SD Times, targeted developers rather than network or system administrators.
Fifty-eight percent rated Windows as a 3 or 4, indicating it was insecure or very insecure, while just 13% of respondents awarded these ratings to Linux. Seventy-four percent rated Linux as a 1 or a 2, very secure or secure, while 38% awarded these higher ratings to Windows.