if linux is open source how is it secured?

Question

if linux is open source is open source any one can know where the password are stored and if the r encrypted any one can decrypt it using source
plzz tell then how its more secured then windows

Answer 1

Knowing /how/ passwords are stored doesn't do an attacker any good at all if they can't get to them (but they are generally stored in a one-way hash anyway... this means that you take the password, run it through some code, and store the result. Even knowing the code it was run through won't let you take that result and turn it back into the password. When you want to see if the user has entered the correct password, you run it through the same code and compare the output to the stored output from when the password was created)

Answer 2

First off, having access to the source is not necessarily a bad thing. Here is an example that might help.

A) You know the layout of Fort Knox
B) You don't know the layout of a mansion

Which would be easier to break into? We know that Fort Knox will have plenty of security implementations and is regularly reviewed for security procedure improvement. We don't know much about the mansion but assume it has some security system, maybe some dogs, or possibly some guards. We can also guess that the mansion probably doesn't have an external audit of their security procedures on a regular basis.

So which of these is more secure?

You should also consider that just because Microsoft Windows is not generally available open source to the public, there are arrangements with universities, companies, and government agencies to have access to the Microsoft source code. Microsoft employees also have access as well. Recall that in the past, the source for a Microsoft Windows operating system (at least a good chunk of it) was released to the Internet. Also consider that enough information exist to reverse engineer Microsoft Windows based on tools and common knowledge of how operating systems work.

For Linux, the fact that it is open source does offer some advantages over a proprietary operating system. Many sets of eyes to review source code can lead to better and more secure code.

Answer 3

http://lug.sparlo.net
Should help, It's a linux users group that specializes in linux itself.