News in View: Love just passes Linux users by

Last week's "loveletter" virus attack has left Microsoft open to allegations that its software is insecure.

Some security experts alleged last week that the Windows operating system is inherently flawed and that alternatives, such as Linux, could not have been targetted to such dramatic effect - a theme which is discussed in this week's News in View programme.

Scott MacKenzie, silicon.com's own webmaster, said: "Linux is less vulnerable to attack because of the nature of the operating system. Recent attacks have been based around macro programmes which do not affect Linux. Most Linux users don't have autonomy which makes it hard for viruses to be replicated."

However, others in the industry claim that Linux would be equally prone to attack if the virus writers gave it as much attention as they do the more popular Microsoft products.

But Rudiger Berlich, managing director of SuSE/Linux, claimed that 25 per cent of corporates worldwide now use the open source operating system, and added that he's confident that Linux systems are safer than their Windows counterparts.

He said: "There will still be people trying to write viruses for Linux, particularly as it becomes more popular. But it's far less dangerous because Linux systems are much less vulnerable to infection."

His view is supported by Eddie Bleasdale, a consultant with Netproject. He agreed that hackers are aware of the Linux system but find it difficult to damage. "You can't say virus writers will leave Linux alone entirely. There will always be people who want to attack corporate systems. But what we can be sure of is that it is going to be infinitely harder to write viruses for Linux rather than Windows.

"Windows is simply not secure - Linux can be made secure," he said.

According to figures by US research firm, Computer Economics, 45 million email users worldwide were affected by the Love Bug. Estimates of the global havoc wreaked by the virus run into hundreds of millions of dollars, with several reports putting the figure closer to $10bn.

Yesterday's news that police in Manila have arrested three suspects will come as some comfort to those that succumbed to the bug.

The full News in View programme can be seen today in Silicon.com's Systems Security channel (http://www.silicon.com/a37368 ).