Regular Windows users sometimes complain about viruses, Trojans and suspicious programs, putting their privacy and security at risk. Luckily, Windows is not the only available option to security conscious users, as they can choose from a variety of Linux flavors or distributions. Here are the top reasons that make Linux equally a good choice when it comes to security:
1. Limited User Privileges (by default)
In Windows, users are given Administrative privileges by default enabling them to access anything. Unknown programs can easily infect a PC when launched with administrative privileges. Linux works differently and even if a virus hits the system, it only damages the local files, not the whole system.
2. Strict program permissions
It is not uncommon for a Windows user to download and open an email attachment which may infect their system. In Linux, you have to grant any program extra permission to install anything on the machine. Windows 10 is believed to implement a similar approach, but that has long been in use with Linux and has already perfected it.
3. Open Source
People usually take open source for granted, but it is the best thing about Linux. Being open source means whenever a virus, etc., goes public, millions of coders around the world will start working to fix it with a source code available to them. These people can quickly fix the issues and are able to send the updated code directly to employees/creators of the official Linux. Unlike Linux, the source code for Windows is only available to a limited number of Employees who can take a lot of time to update the Windows with a patch.
4. Lesser number of users
Most of the professional web hosting companies use Linux as an OS of choice, but not many people use Linux on their computers. Lesser people using Linux means few of the viruses will target the OS.
Although Linux is much secure than Windows, it still is not totally hack-proof, but it offers security at a much greater level for an average user. Linux is highly recommended for users concerned about their security and there are tons of options available to choose from, including Ubuntu, Linuxmint, PCLinuxOS and the list goes on.
It will be interesting to know your experiences with Windows or Linux here for the benefit of other readers.
