Lack of adequate knowledge leads to Linux abuse

VIP LOUNGE

CLOUD LOGIN

You are here: News > News > Lack of adequate knowledge leads to Linux abuse

» IT Security NEWS

» 09 May 2010

Lack of adequate knowledge leads to Linux abuse

At present, excessively huge amount of Linux computers are being utilized by the abusive online crooks in their spamming activities because users do not have enough familiarity on the machine’s mail server function. This information is taken from the latest study conducted by the Symantec Hosted Services.

Linux vulnerability at its worst

Based on the MessageLabs Intelligence Report, a presentation issued by the company monthly, the Linux-operated computers are actually five times more vulnerable to exploitation by the web criminals for spamming compared to computers with Windows operating system.

Thoughtlessness puts many computers in danger

According to the blog post written by Mat Nisbet, the malware data analyst of Symantec Hosted Services, he initiated the study in order to discover more of the probable reasons. Nisbet saw that the machines, which are sending the unsolicited mails, are those with an open-source mail transfer agent like the Postfixor SendMail that is not deactivated by the users. This was founded on the research of the spam mails coming from different computers run by Linux.

Nisbet also added another explanation as to why there are a lot of spam mails coming from Linux-driven machines. He said that companies, nowadays, use their own mail servers and they also utilize open-sour software just to lessen their expenses. However, they are not aware of the risks of leaving the port 25 linked to the web. Allowing an open port 25 may lead to more threats of exploitation. In addition, some of the botnets today are designed in a way that these are capable of spotting specific computers that have an accessible port 25.

Safety must not be left unattended

People find Linux to be a very valuable product because many of its software are free of charge. And, if the users really want to use the Linux for their benefit then they must possess the right knowledge on how they will properly set up the system. Hence, safety from threats will be ensured with the use of the precise setting.

Also, Nisbet believes that the right manipulation of the security options and limiting the access to port 25 by allowing only the certain users to gain entry will actually increase the protection of the system.

Learn more information about SecPoint by visiting some of the links: About SecPoint, SecPoint Awards, and SecPoint Press.