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Linux kiosks more secure than Windows-based self-service systems, one researcher says

November 30, 2008

Computerworld:Kiosks running Linux are more secure than those running Windows, says Mac Jones of Whangarei-based Netstop after Computerworld's report on attack-code targeting Windows kiosks. The Windows operating system was designed for people at home and in offices, who, naturally, wouldn't try to hack their own computers. But now, most 15-year-olds can pull up information on the Internet and hack a Windows computer, he said. To Jones, it proved too hard to make kiosks safe using Windows and he switched to the Linux OS. Last week, Computerworld reported that an attack tool, targeting Internet kiosks and terminals running Windows, had been released by a New Zealand security researcher, Paul Craig, who works for consultancy Security-Assessment.com. Craig released his findings at the world's largest hacking conference, DEF CON, in Las Vegas in August.

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