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Microsoft or Apple - Who Is the Faster Patcher?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the go-speed-patcher-gooo dept.

Amy Bennett writes "And the answer is... Microsoft. Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology analyzed 658 high-risk and medium-risk vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft products and 738 affecting Apple. They measured how many times over the past six years the two vendors were able to have a patch available on the day a vulnerability became publicly known, which they call the 0-day patch rate. What they found: 'Apple was below 20 [unpatched vulnerabilities at disclosure] consistently before 2005,' said Stefan Frei, one of the researchers involved in the study. 'Since then, they are very often above. So if you have Apple and compare it to Microsoft, the number of unpatched vulnerabilities are higher at Apple.'"

13 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. heh by ionix5891 · · Score: 5, Funny

    it must be apple hate week here at slashdot :p

    1. Re:heh by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 3, Funny

      You don't have to just remain cool in modern terms -- you have to consider your cool creds in the Google Cache and way-back machine. Good cache lends credence to your cache.

      >> I've thought Bush sucked since 1999. And, since that family has their fingers in everything, it is way more on topic than say, talking about computers. I definitely wasn't cool at the time. It's like not liking Adolph in 1930 -- too soon. /could not resist flame bait.

      --
      >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
  2. Oh Boy by elrous0 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now you've done it.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  3. Well, duh... by SirGarlon · · Score: 5, Funny

    Microsoft has more practice patching their OS!

    --
    [Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
    1. Re:Well, duh... by Yahweh+Doesn't+Exist · · Score: 2, Funny

      >Personally as a certified Free software I'm rubbing my hands & looking forward to the Linux types

      AIs are posting on slashdot!? better than nuking us I s'pose...

    2. Re:Well, duh... by Artuir · · Score: 1, Funny

      Exactly the fan-boy rebuttal I was expecting!

  4. If a tree falls ... by arteas · · Score: 3, Funny

    and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound? That's the excuse I would use if I was Apple.

  5. what day of the week is it? by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 5, Funny

    Microsoft is the faster patcher, but only if it happens to be the second Tuesday of the month.

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    This guy's the limit!
  6. Of course! by shadow349 · · Score: 5, Funny

    So if you have Apple and compare it to Microsoft, the number of unpatched vulnerabilities are higher at Apple.
    That explains all those zombie Mac OS X machines.
  7. Apples to ... by Bombula · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bah. This comparison is just Apples to - wait a minute...

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    A-Bomb
  8. yes, and if grandma had wheels..... by Ancient_Hacker · · Score: 2, Funny
    Yes, and the Houndai Arthritic is the best selling 3-wheeled SUV in it's class!

    One can always play with the criteria to get any desired winner.

    Going by raw number of anything you lose any distinctions as to the severity or impact of each problem.

    In general a buffer-overflow in the Windows kernel is a heck of a lot more dangerous than a similar problem in OSX can ever be.

  9. or by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Microsoft is the faster patcher, but only if it happens to be the second Tuesday of the month.

    Or if they are patching a problem in a DRM system or other end-user-inhibitor.

  10. Re:Just more FUD by failedlogic · · Score: 4, Funny

    NO, no, no. We know that knowledge of these bugs can be known. Implying otherwise, means that we can't know what is not known which is untrue, because eventually we will know it. To really know, what's not yet known on this subject, I suggest we wait until an updated study is released. Then we will know.

    On your second point, uncertainty & doubt, I don't know what to think as once we know what needs to be known these will disappear.

    What was the study about again?