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Debian Struggling With Security

Posted by Zonk on from the invaders-at-the-gates dept.

Masq666 wrote to mention a ZDNet article discussing difficulties Debian is having with security updates. From the article: "...Lack of manpower also appears to be adding to Debian's security woes. Michael Stone, another member of Debian's security team, expressed his frustration to the organisation's security e-mail mailing list in mid-June, saying there was no effective tracking of security problems."

3 of 264 comments (clear)

  1. Ubuntu by Apreche · · Score: 1, Troll

    This is at least partially because the attention that Ubuntu is getting. And rightfully so. IMHO in most situations today, especially desktop situations, an Ubuntu install is vastly preferred to a Debian install. It is the same Debian quality you are used to while simultaneously being even easier than Fedora.

    I'm not saying kill Debian, everyone bail to Ubuntu. I'm saying that there is competition for manpower in the open source world. And in a capitalistic/darwinistic manner it's going to be the fittest that survive. And if another project takes your manpower away because it is better in some aspects, then that is what will happen.

    I've used Debian and I've used Ubuntu. And I can say that I no longer find much reason to use Debian anymore at all. This story doesn't surprise me in the least.

    --
    The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
  2. Re:How the mighty have fallen... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll
    I think this is probably part of the problem... too many people are wishing them luck and not enough people are actually doing anything to address the problem.

    Sorry, but I'm really busy getting useful work done on my Mac and getting paid for it. Otherwise I'd love to pitch in and help! Buy hey...don't worry about it in the meantime. Debian is Free(tm), both as in speech and beer! And that's more important than being secure.

  3. Why is the parent a troll? by waferhead · · Score: 0, Troll

    I ditched Debian for the same reason.
    Pick one:

    Stable---Totally out of date, useless for a desktop IMHO.

    Testing---STILL pretty out of date, but varies. Probably OK for a desktop, but a good number of packages (to be current for builds) requires...

    Unstable. Usually current, MANY broken packages, but NOWHERE near as "stable" as say ....

    Mandrake//Mandriva Cooker, which sort of amazed me when it didn't crater... (It never borked on an upgrade while I used it ~6 months)