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Security Experts See Chromebooks as a Closed Ecosystem That Improves Security (cnet.com)
The founder of Rendition Security believes his daughter "is more safe on a Chromebook than a Windows laptop," and he's not the only one. CNET's staff reporter argues that Google's push for simplicity, speed, and security "ended up playing off each other." mspohr shared this article:
Heading to my first security conference last year, I expected to see a tricked-out laptop running on a virtual machine with a private network and security USB keys sticking out -- perhaps something out of a scene from "Mr. Robot." That's not what I got. Everywhere I went I'd see small groups of people carrying Chromebooks, and they'd tell me that when heading into unknown territory it was their travel device... "If you want prehardened security, then Chromebooks are it," said Kenneth White, director of the Open Crypto Audit Project. "Not because they're Google, but because Chrome OS was developed for years and it explicitly had web security as a core design principle...." Drewry and Liu focused on four key features for the Chromebook that have been available ever since the first iteration in 2010: sandboxing, verified boots, power washing and quick updates. These provided security features that made it much harder for malware to pass through, while providing a quick fix-it button if it ever did.
That's not to say Chrome OS is impervious to malware. Cybercriminals have figured out loopholes through Chrome's extensions, like when 37,000 devices were hit by the fake version of AdBlock Plus. Malicious Android apps have also been able to sneak through the Play Store. But Chrome OS users mostly avoided massive cyberattack campaigns like getting locked up with ransomware or hijacked to become part of a botnet. Major security flaws for Chrome OS, like ones that would give an attacker complete control, are so rare that Google offers rewards up to $200,000 to anyone who can hack the system.
The article argues that "Fewer software choices mean limited options for hackers. Those are some of the benefits that have led security researchers to warm up to the laptops...
"Chrome OS takes an approach to security that's similar to the one Apple takes with iOS and its closed ecosystem."
That's not to say Chrome OS is impervious to malware. Cybercriminals have figured out loopholes through Chrome's extensions, like when 37,000 devices were hit by the fake version of AdBlock Plus. Malicious Android apps have also been able to sneak through the Play Store. But Chrome OS users mostly avoided massive cyberattack campaigns like getting locked up with ransomware or hijacked to become part of a botnet. Major security flaws for Chrome OS, like ones that would give an attacker complete control, are so rare that Google offers rewards up to $200,000 to anyone who can hack the system.
The article argues that "Fewer software choices mean limited options for hackers. Those are some of the benefits that have led security researchers to warm up to the laptops...
"Chrome OS takes an approach to security that's similar to the one Apple takes with iOS and its closed ecosystem."
Everything from Google, a giant advertising company that wants to track your every move. Fools.
... an oxymoron.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
Even though you can do more with a mac (or even an iPad, especially the iPad pro)....chromebook is still better?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
How about we gets less intrusive and trespassing ads? This argument of "wah, I'm not making money!" is BS these days, especially with malvertising being one of the two biggest vectors for compromise out there.
Ads are one thing, security and privacy are another. Sites can do other things than sling "free iPhone" shit, or try to run cryptocurrency miners.
I run uBlock and PiHole, and if a site doesn't like it, there are tons which can take their place and are friendlier. Stop trying to hack my machines, and I might stop blocking your shit.
Sure, I'll agree with summary. A closed system is inherently harder to hack. And harder to put malware onto if the model is excluding unsigned/unapproved code.
But is this something we really want? We've heard that 'they' would like general purpose computing to be revoked from the general population, or at least severely limited.
This is a step in that direction, under the guise of 'It's more secure!', yeah, it's also locked down and useless for any function other than it's designated function. I'm not really interested in this. I don't think it's a good idea to be pushing this kind of solution.
It's a nice looking 'gift', but it's trojan horse. A trojan to train the population that they don't need general purpose computing, and that general purpose open computing is dangerous and unsafe. Not good.
Full blown laptops are geek toys, designed for geeks by geeks... The average reader of slashdot might be capable of operating such a tool, but most people are not and many people would never have bought such a machine at all if it wasn't the only available tool for doing some key activity (eg internet access)...
Now there are many new tools which are far more suitable for most people's needs (chromebooks, tablets, phones, games consoles etc), the niches that require a full blown laptop are shrinking.
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Your school system is habituating people to crippled, minimal devices - the very poster child for dumbing down the students.
Chromebooks are only a good answer to going backwards.
Unfortunately, going backwards is a trend that is taking over all of society.
Over the last 30 years, computers have become more and more powerful, hard drives and monitors have become bigger and cheaper, and yet today most people spend all their time staring at a phone with a 5 inch screen and the power and storage of an early 90s era PC.
If you talked to 10,000 consumers who own Chromebooks, I doubt even 1% of them would be able to tell you they own a device running Linux.
If you talked to 10,000 consumers using Bing, I doubt even 1% of them would be able to tell you they're accessing servers running on Linux. So fucking what?
FOSS got tossed out the fucking window.
In what universe is FOSS running on millions of devices equivalent to being "tossed out the window"?
The infamous Year of the Linux Desktop ended up being nothing more than a bastardized commercially-branded closed ecosystem running on a personal tracking device that the masses happily sold their digital soul to get.
Ah yes, zealous hyperbole FTW.
Micropayments.
I visit your web page and stay for more than ten seconds, you get a penny.
I'm be totally for this rather than ads or site-specific paywalls or being data-mined.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.