Re: Security holiday over for Mac users!

In article <1hbgr6x.1w2kievq0yxnyN%andekl_no@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, andekl_no@xxxxxxxxxxxx (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Anders_Ekl=F6f?=) writes:
To the OP (bob):

The article does not mention OpenVMS, so what is this thread doing here.
I have never seen any claim that OS X would be more secure than OpenVMS.

Then you haven't been following the "What's more secure ? OpenVMS or
OpenBSD ?" thread started by the user as400 in which he rated MAC OS-X as more
secure than OpenBSD and asked about how secure OpenVMS was.

see

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.vms/msg/a4af83e8b036328a

and later said that he thought MAC OS-X was more secure than OpenVMS

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.vms/msg/3e9df4ef9f3d3c20



David Webb
Security team leader
CCSS
Middlesex University


I guess I didn't look too hard as I don't find the comparison relevant.
The relevant comparison is of course that in the article - to Windows.

Alan Winston - SSRL Central Computing <winston@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

In article <44038105.73C4542C@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, JF Mezei
<jfmezei.spamnot@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
Bob Koehler wrote:
Back when VMS was The OS Of Choice, it had the most powerfull
applications, the best global network connectivity, and the most
resource sites.

It was secure, even then.


Kevin Mitnick.
What was the name of that famous virus to make it to VMS ? WANK ?

Technically a worm rather than a virus (as the very name acknowledged).

Let's not get hooked up on techie terms here.
Most widespread Windows "viruses" are actually worms (or Trojans).
So are the Inqtana and Leap thingies. And they are still "only" proof of
concept. They still have to find out how to get any payload working - at
least outside the user's realm. Of course that time will come. There no
holiday - if there ever has been - but we're still rather cool :-)

There are real threats to OS X too, mainly hacker scripts and rootkits.
And they have been around for some time, too. But so far they seem to be
dependant on the really soft spot of the computer - ignorant users !

Absolutely nothing beats a poor (or blank) admin password when it comes
to breaking in to a remote computer. That goes for VMS, BSD, OS X,
WinXP, Linux - you name it.

And we all know which system gives you permanent BYPASS priviliges by
default when you log in to an admin account, and doesn't even prompt you
to create a password when you setup the account in the first place.

--
I recommend Macs to my friends, and Windows machines
to those whom I don't mind billing by the hour
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Opinion: I was just trying to sell OpenVMS
    ... of his own OpenVMS system - the very same people that believe that the ... to OpenVMS for obvious reasons) is pretty secure - it's all the other ... Windows crud and everyone's an Admin that messes it up. ... At his customer sites there is usually nobody capable of administering a VMS system. ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • RE: OpenVMS - When downtime is not an option
    ... but the box can be closed up made secure and made ... Windows systems. ... And as often is the case, Bill Todd should stick to the areas where he ... OpenVMS - even z/OS the odd time) and these are real world Windows ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: Opinion: I was just trying to sell OpenVMS
    ... They don't understand how firewalls work, ... of his own OpenVMS system - the very same people that believe that the ... to OpenVMS for obvious reasons) is pretty secure - it's all the other ... At his customer sites there is usually nobody capable of administering a VMS system. ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • RE: What is Different or Special About VMS?
    ... > I have never said that VMS was not secure. ... > without the attention that Windows and Unix get we'll probably never ... OpenVMS is still very much a huge part of secure Govt work. ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: Opinion: I was just trying to sell OpenVMS
    ... They don't understand how firewalls work, ... of his own OpenVMS system - the very same people that believe that the ... to OpenVMS for obvious reasons) is pretty secure - it's all the other ... Yes, security can be done, but it takes a very smart designer to figure out what the true defaults for security should be. ...
    (comp.os.vms)