The Basic Principles of Security (and Why They Matter)

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To many users, security begins and ends with anti-virus and malware protection and regular software updates. But there is much more to security, and the more you understand the reasoning behind it, the more you can make intelligent choices when applying system security measures.

 

To start with, anti-virus programs and software updates are what is sometimes called reactive security — that is, responses to an obvious threat. Reactive security is the best-known type of security, and can be effective, but is rarely enough in itself. Security experts generally prefer to place their trust in architectural security, i.e. configuration choices designed to keep computer system safe regardless of specific threats, such as permissions, or root accounts that are inaccessible to most users.

 

When people make general statements about Linux being more secure than Windows, know it or not, they are generally referring to architectural security. As a descendant of Unix, unlike Windows, Linux was designed from its earliest days as a multi-user system, which historically has meant that it is better adapted than Windows to modern computing.

 

That doesn’t mean, however, that all Linux installations are more secure than all Windows ones. As the shipping condition of many phones and tablets shows, it is all too easy for a Linux or Android system to be configured so that it is essentially wide open. Instead, what it means is that Linux has been easier to secure than Windows because, when you harden the system, you are working with it rather than against it, and with core parts of the system rather than add-ons........

http://www.ocsmag.com/2015/08/26/the-basic-principles-of-security-and-why-they-matter/