Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Role of Windows Security Problems in GNU/Linux Gains

Dollar red symbol



Summary: Online banking as a GNU/Linux selling point -- again

JUST THE other day we mentioned how banks were becoming reason for advocacy of GNU/Linux. A couple more articles about the subject have just been published:

Windows unsafe for online banking? Shopping?

The most prominent example of this is The Washington Post's security columnist, Brian Krebs. Krebs recently recommended that after interviewing "dozens of victim companies that lost anywhere from $10,000 to $500,000 dollars because of a single malware infection," he's now recommending that, "commercial online banking customers consider accessing their accounts solely from non-Windows systems."

As Krebs points out, he's not the only one. The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, an online financial-sector security forum recommends business users, ""carry out all online banking activity from a standalone, hardened, and locked-down computer from which e-mail and Web browsing is not possible."


Teeth-Gnashing and Tongue-Lashing Over Desktop Linux Foot-Shooting

"Even if the Windows installation on the underlying hard drive is completely corrupted with a keystroke-logging virus or Trojan, that malware can't capture the victim's banking credentials if that user only transmits his or her credentials after booting up into one of these Live CDs," Krebs explained.

The community's reaction? More than 400 comments on Slashdot just a few days later, not to mention discussions on OStatic, as well as on LXer and beyond.


There is nothing wrong with advocating the use of GNU/Linux on a comparative basis. To say nothing about the competitors is not always effective. People do not understand Freedom so well, especially in a society that trains people to misunderstand "freedom". So last night I convinced a friend of mine to use GNU/Linux based on the promise that it would eliminate the security issues so common under Windows.

"I am convinced we have to use Windows – this is the one thing they don’t have. We have to be competitive with features, but we need something more — Windows integration."

--Jim Allchin, President of Platforms & Services Division at Microsoft

Recent Techrights' Posts

10 Easy Steps to Follow for Digital Sovereignty in Nations That Distrust GAFAM et al
When "enough is enough"
Dr. Andy Farnell Explains Why Slop Companies Like Anthropic and Microsoft 'Open' 'AI' Basically Plunder and Rob People
This article was published last night at around 10
 
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part IX - EPO Budget Funnelled Into Cocaine and Moreover Rewards Cocaine-Addicted Management for Getting Busted by Police
Any day that passes without European media and European politicians doing anything about it merely discredits the media and the EU (or national governments)
Richard Stallman Won't Talk About "AI", He'll Talk About Chatbots and LLMs Lacking Any Intelligence
This really irritates people who dislike the message; so they attack the person
Slopfarms Still Fed by Google, Boosting Fake 'Articles' That Pretend to Cover "Linux"
At this point about 80-90% of the search results appear not to be slopfarms
Gemini Links 23/01/2026: The Danish Approach to Deepfakes and Random vi Things
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 22, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, January 22, 2026
Five Years Ago, After We Broke the Story About Richard Stallman Rejoining the FSF's Board, All Hell Broke Loose (for Me and My Family)
They generally seem to target anyone who thinks Richard Stallman (RMS) should be in charge or thinks alike about computing
Links 22/01/2026: Slop Fantasy About Patents, Retirement in China Now Reached at Age Seventy
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/01/2026: Why Europe Does Not Need GAFAMs, XScreenSaver Tinkering, FlatCube
Links for the day
Salvadorans' Usage of GNU/Linux Measured at Record Levels
All-time high
Links 22/01/2026: Ubisoft Layoffs Disguised as "RTO", US "Congress Wants To Hand Your Parenting To GAFAM", Americans' Image Tarnished Among Canadians (Now Planning to "Repel US Invasion")
Links for the day
No, the Problem at IBM/Red Hat Isn't Diversity
Microsoft Lunduke also openly shows his admiration for Pedo Cheeto
Do Not Link to Linuxiac Anymore, Linuxiac Became a Slopfarm
now Linuxiac is slop
Richard Stallman (RMS) at Georgia Tech Tomorrow
After the talk we'll write a lot about "cancel culture" and online mobs fostered and emboldened in social control media
Software Patents by Any Other Name
There is no such thing as "AI" patents
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 21, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, January 21, 2026
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part VIII - Salary Cuts to Staff, 100,000 Euros to Managers Busted Using Cocaine (for Doing Absolutely Nothing, Just Pretending to be "Sick")
Today we look at slides from the union
Gemini Links 22/01/2026: Forest Monk, Aurora Observation, and Arduino Officially Launches the More Powerful Arduino UNO Q 4GB Single-Board Computer
Links for the day
Next Week is Close Enough for Wall Street Storytelling About 'Efficiency' by Layoffs for "AI"
This coming week GAFAM and others will tell some creative tales about how "AI" something something...
Google News Still a Feeder of Slop About "Linux", Which Became Rarer in 2026
Our main concern these days is what happened to Linuxiac. Bobby Borisov became a chatbots addict.
Links 21/01/2026: "Snap Settles Lawsuit on Social Media Addiction" and Attempts in the US to Revive Software Patents
Links for the day
Links 21/01/2026: Microsoft 'Open' 'Hey Hi' in More Trouble, US Has "Brown Shirts" Problem
Links for the day
Yesterday Afternoon The Register MS Published Paid Microsoft SPAM Disguised as an Article About "AI PCs"
The Register MS cannot help itself, can it? [...] Follow the money.
Microsoft's XBox is in Effect Dead Already, Now It's a Streaming and Advertising Platform
Expect many layoffs soon
Richard Stallman's Talk at Georgia Tech is Just 2 Days Away
We're still curious to see how malicious people (or trolls) in social control media will try to slant his talk as "bad"
EPO's Web Site Misused for Propaganda About Illegal Kangaroo Courts to Distract From EPO Scandals and Judicial Crisis in Europe
UPC is illegal and unconstitutional
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part VII - The Industrial Actions Began Yesterday, Here's Why
The "Alicante Mafia" might not last much longer
Gemini Links 21/01/2026: Edible Circuits and "Sayonara HTTP"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, January 20, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, January 20, 2026
IBM Hides Its Own Destruction (and Red Hat's)
It's like scenes out of '1984', which is what a now-famous advertisement from Apple compared IBM to