[GLLUG] Why I left Ubuntu

[Clay Dowling]

On 07/25/2013 08:10 AM, Patrick Goupell wrote:
> I  would think the "disadvantages" would be the same as sticking with
> windows xp.
>
> As long as the software does what you need it to do; if you don't see
> any need for new software / features in the near future and you are
> reasonably protected from security threats (which being linux you
> are)  then you could stay with what you have.

You're protected as long as the machine doesn't have network access. 
Linux unpatched is just about as vulnerable as anything else unpatched,
and I get security patches about once a week.  Because of it's dominance
in the server world, Linux is a pretty major target.  We have a group
where I work that actively monitors the major network attack tools, and
their feed shows a fair number of attacks specific to Linux.

The bad actors aren't especially interested in stealing data from your
machine, either.  What they're more interested in is adding your machine
to a compromised network of machines.  They make decent money by renting
time on these networks for selling fake boner pills and pushing DDoS
traffic in extortion schemes.  Effectively what they're doing is
stealing your CPU cycles and bandwidth, both of which you pay for. 

It's rather like having somebody co-opting your front porch to sell
weed. If you were allowing somebody to sell weed from your front porch,
the cops would take you in along with the dealer (who, because he's
sitting outside and probably has a network of watchers, probably won't
actually get caught, unlike you, whose first notice of trouble will be
the police coming through your door).  If your machines are caught
sending spam or attack traffic, you'll find your internet connectivity
degraded or cut off completely, usually without any warning, and
definitely without any recourse.

Clay