A test has revealed that a Linux server is far less likely to be compromised. In fact, unpatched Red Hat and SuSE servers were not breached at all during a six-week trial, while the equivalent Windows systems were compromised within hours. An unpatched Windows 2000 Server was the quickest to be compromised, at an hour and 17 minutes, while unpatched Windows Server 2003 lasted slightly longer. Windows XP Professional, unpatched, lasted one hour and 12 seconds. Meanwhile, Unpatched Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and SuSE Linux 9 Desktop weren’t compromised during the month and a half it was exposed to the Internet.

However, patching does make a difference. Patched versions of Windows fared far better, remaining untouched throughout the test, as did the Red Hat and Suse deployments. The results of the test were confirmed by Symantec’s other finding, Companies were at risk from unpatched software bugs for an average of 42 days per bug during the second half of last year, according to the company’s latest semi-annual Internet Security Threat Report, released this week.

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Source: Tech World via MSFN