Microsoft To Attack Linux Over Security, Of All Things

November 11th, 2003 at 2:00 PM - News by Bryan Chaffin and Alex Allee

Whatis a good sign that a company is winning over the customers of another company? Why, the company fighting back, of course! Now, what is Microsoftis weakest point when it comes to Windows? Security. Now, take those two answers together, and what do you get? According to an article at InfoWorld, Microsoft is preparing to attack the Linux community over lax security. Microsoft has hired analysts to compare the speed in which security holes are patched on both systems, focusing on the lower-profile holes in Linux that may be overlooked. From InfoWorld:

In a sign that the inroads made by the Open Source community are starting to rattle the software giant, Microsoft has hired several analysts to review how fast holes are patched in the open source software and is expected to announce that Windows compares favorably.

The strategy, called "Days of Risk," measures the number of days it takes programmers to release a public patch after a vulnerability is revealed. While high-profile holes in Linux and associated software tend to be swiftly dealt with, less prominent problems -- which could be just as potentially damaging -- can take weeks or even months to appear.

Microsoftis aim is to undermine critics and place a question mark over Linuxis security by revealing that, on average, Windows poses less of a security risk. By turning attention away from its own software bugs while at the same time launching several security initiatives, it hopes to be able to tackle one of main worries business has with its proprietary operating system.

You can read the full article at InfoWorldis Web site.