Strip back the FUD; apply the standard "there are security holes in Linux
applications fixed all the time, but Gartner Group rarely complains about
them, and if they do, it gets written off as anti-MS propaganda"
This is entirely true. Linux does have security problems. Just today RedHat released two fixes for bugs in CVS and Cadaver.
I've been using Outlook Express for several years now.
I've never once passed a virus onto anyone.
Do you have Antivirus software installed on either your Desktop or Mail Server? Do they ever trap viruses? Do you have a firewall between your desktop and the Internet? If you don't receive viruses (or have Antivirus software) or have a firewall between yourself an the Internet then you are unlike 99.9% of the people who's computers spread viruses and therefore you do not count.
Coincidence? I think not. If Linux had the market share that Windows had,
then there'd be exploits found and abused in Linux. They might be fixed
quicker, but anything we say about that hypothetical situation is mere
speculation at this point.
Whilst I admit that Windows is a bigger target than Linux that fact does not excuse Microsoft from writing secure software. Because they are a bigger target they should have _more_ secure software not less. But they don't and Windows can never be made secure. It has fundamental design flaws that exclude that possibility. Windows will have to be reimplemented to achieve a truly secure design. You can not hack security in after the fact. It appears Microsoft is re-implementing a large extent of the Windows API with Longhorn. All this .NET business. However I doubt this will solve the problem. Microsoft just don't care that much to solve the problem.
Yes, some of these viewpoints are exaggerated for this post, but just
because some Windows users are a problem doesn't mean they all are.
Indeed none of the Windows boxes I'm responsible for get viruses via email and a lot of them run OE. But that is because I've put in place antivirus protection at the mail server. If I hadn't have done that they would be spreading viruses by the truck load.
Regards