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Desktop Linux just as well has software repositories, which are similar to app stores, but human beings look over each application that's included. And you find

by Sylos 9y ago

Desktop Linux just as well has software repositories, which are similar to app stores, but human beings look over each application that's included. And you find essentially all popular software in this trusted repository. So, this strategy would barely work, as users would only look on the internet for a download, if it's not in this trusted repository and then it's gonna be a really unpopular application. (Theoretically, it's possible for your grandma to go on the internet before checking this trusted repository, but that is really just so much more effort.)

skinnymuch 9y ago
Linux user base also has an effect. It's all people who know what they're doing or someone having a newbie relative using it just for browsing the web. If Linux was 90%+ of the market, getting people to download some stuff with a curl command promising some BS or having people download and run sudo would only need to touch a fraction of users to be highly valuable. That's just a random example off the top of my head. And also because I don't use Linux on desktop so I don't fully know how everything works there.
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  You're spot on. And if someone thinks regular people would be "too scared" of CLI to pipe curl into sudo sh, remember that people are "too scared" of developer tools in browsers too, and yet Facebook and others have to implement self-XSS protection measures in there, because it turns out there's nothing too complicated in computing when it stands between a person and fulfilling their desire (as promised by a scammer).
  - skinnymuch 9y ago
    Yeah for sure about the "too scared" to do any CLI or any other different sort of thing. I've had some Mac friends just copy paste homebrew stuff in. Without any knowledge of how popular it is or if they are for sure on the correct site. They just knew I said homebrew [cask] is good and installed it. They could've easily gone to a wrong site and gotten screwed over. Half these people are people into gadgets and electronics, but probably will only open terminal once a year on their Macs, if that much.
michaelmior 9y ago
> similar to app stores, but human beings look over each application that's included I'm sure that's not true for all Linux repositories. But humans certainly do look at all apps going to the App Store.

by Sylos 9y ago

skinnymuch 9y ago

Linux user base also has an effect. It's all people who know what they're doing or someone having a newbie relative using it just for browsing the web. If Linux was 90%+ of the market, getting people to download some stuff with a curl command promising some BS or having people download and run sudo would only need to touch a fraction of users to be highly valuable. That's just a random example off the top of my head. And also because I don't use Linux on desktop so I don't fully know how everything works there.

TeMPOraL 9y ago
You're spot on. And if someone thinks regular people would be "too scared" of CLI to pipe curl into sudo sh, remember that people are "too scared" of developer tools in browsers too, and yet Facebook and others have to implement self-XSS protection measures in there, because it turns out there's nothing too complicated in computing when it stands between a person and fulfilling their desire (as promised by a scammer).
- skinnymuch 9y ago
  Yeah for sure about the "too scared" to do any CLI or any other different sort of thing. I've had some Mac friends just copy paste homebrew stuff in. Without any knowledge of how popular it is or if they are for sure on the correct site. They just knew I said homebrew [cask] is good and installed it. They could've easily gone to a wrong site and gotten screwed over. Half these people are people into gadgets and electronics, but probably will only open terminal once a year on their Macs, if that much.

michaelmior 9y ago

> similar to app stores, but human beings look over each application that's included I'm sure that's not true for all Linux repositories. But humans certainly do look at all apps going to the App Store.