Linux should use Vista’s UAC
Whilst this one speaks about the Mac OS X and compares it with Microsoft's Vista security features, the same can be said of linux vs vista's security. Mac OS X and Linux, both coming from a Unix background, share practically the same base security design, i.e., administrators/root and users are two different beasts with different privileges and access rights.
Not until recently has Microsoft realized this – BUT wait – it seems like Microsoft is claiming that their User Account Control (UAC) is one that all operating systems should aspire for. This is true if Microsoft did this twenty-thirty years ago!
Heck, if this is what all OS should aspire to, then forget it! I'm pretty satisfied with "sudo", both on my Ubuntu box and Mac OS X. How about you – would you rather click on a dozen windows to delete a single file?
[apologies to Apple, Inc. for the video]
Comments
Comment from cquinn
Time April 29, 2007 at 8:29 am
Don’t a few distros already have an auto-sudo feature, that can prompt the user for credentials to elevate priveleges when needed?
UAC is basically the same idea applied to the “runas” command; with differences in how the system
handles user mode and ownership in an NT-based OS rather than in a un*x environment.
You don’t have to click on a dozen windows to delete a single file in either of them, unless the
user account trying to delete that file might have had serious reasons to not be able to remove it in the first place.
Comment from Rom
Time April 29, 2007 at 4:15 pm
The thing is – Microsoft thinks that their UAC is so revolutionary that all other OS must follow it.
Comment from alan
Time April 29, 2007 at 9:34 pm
As I understand it UAC is similar to MAC(Mandatory Access Control). A process run by an admin/root can have limited priveleges. MAC is currently implemented by SELinux which can be turned on in some distro. I still prefer the current Linux security. Much simpler for desktops.
Comment from George Bush
Time February 24, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Windows does not have the security features of disk encryption that the BSD releaes have nor can it be hardened like gentoo and debian.
Comment from Corsair
Time April 28, 2007 at 7:09 pm
MS wanted to tell a joke or something? MS was talking about their security, again, and UAC in a single-user OS? That’s quite funny.