Linux vs. Windows: Which Is More Secure?

In a new report, Is Linux More Secure Than Windows? from Forrester Research Inc., based in Cambridge, Mass., Computing Infrastructures Senior Analyst Laura Koetzle finds that both Windows and Linux can be deployed securely. Microsoft Corp., however, fixes security problems the quickest—which is a good thing, since it also has the most major security holes.

Forrester found that many IT professionals believe that Linux is more secure than Windows, but Koetzle found that the real-world answer is more complicated than that simplistic analysis.

Koetzle believes, based on a survey of past security vulnerabilities, that security vulnerabilities follow a timeline—in other words, that they have a lifespan.

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