5 ms·

> much smaller attack surface for malware. And much smaller blast radius too. I don't do home banking on my xbox.

by pdpi 6y ago

ChuckNorris89 6y ago
Malware on a large scale on computers, be them PCs, Macs or Linux hasn't been a problem for years unless you as a user engage in downloading shady stuff from dodgy sources. The reason consoles are safer is that you can't do any dodgy downloads on them beyond the manufacturer's walled garden, similar to how mobile devices work, not because they have magic security pixie dust making them invulnerable to malware, especially since they share the same X86 hardware as PCs.
- MaxBarraclough 6y ago
  > The reason consoles are safer is that you can't do any dodgy downloads on them beyond the manufacturer's walled garden, similar to how mobile devices work, not because they have magic security pixie dust making them invulnerable to malware, especially since they share the same X86 hardware as PCs. That's not the whole story. The Xbox takes sandboxing very seriously, and provides isolation way beyond a typical PC. See for instance [0]. Recent generations of Xbox and PlayStation have been based on AMD64, but I don't see that this is a major factor. edit It's a pity they don't offer decent keyboard+mouse support. Being able to use a console as a serious desktop web browser would be a very useful feature. [0] https://youtu.be/U7VwtOrwceo?t=1180 https://youtu.be/U7VwtOrwceo?t=1180
  - ascagnel_ 6y ago
    > It's a pity they don't offer decent keyboard+mouse support. Being able to use a console as a serious desktop web browser would be a very useful feature. Some games offer M+KB support, and I think the new Xboxes have some support at a system level. I’m not sure if that extends to the system UI, though.
    - MaxBarraclough 6y ago
      They never added mouse+keyboard support for Edge on Xbox One. Too early to say for the Series consoles but I suspect they'll disappoint again.
MaxBarraclough 6y ago
> I don't do home banking on my xbox. You probably could do this, as the console includes the Edge browser, including a Private Browsing feature. (At least, the Xbox One includes a pre-Chromium version of Edge, I'm not sure about the new Series consoles.) It doesn't strike me as a particularly bad idea, other than in terms of the user experience, likely with no support for keyboard and mouse.
ineedasername 6y ago
Blast radius really depends on just how dedicated you are. Yes, it's true that even a low or medium end gaming PC is going to have a much larger power source that can contribute to the fireworks if a small explosive is properly placed & detonated. PC enthusiasts will often point to this in order to support their choice of gaming hardware. This ignores the realities of modern day explosives, or even what can be cobbled together from household items. Any discernable difference between a PC & console all but disappears if they're detonated with even a modest explosive. Context matters as well: A PC is more likely to be in a clearer zone, at the very least for better ventilation. A console on the other hand is much more likely to be in an area that is more densely populated with other consumer electronics. The television alone is likely to be sufficiently large to make a more impressive field of debris than a PC. Obviously this is just taking the typical setups into account. All bets are off when dealing with a PC that has some truly exotic cooling mechanisms. Detonation under those conditions should, at minimum, be accompanied with evacuation orders for neighbors within a 3 to 4 block radius of your home.

> much smaller attack surface for malware. And much smaller blast radius too. I don't do home banking on my xbox.

by pdpi 6y ago

> much smaller attack surface for malware. And much smaller blast radius too. I don't do home banking on my xbox.

Malware on a large scale on computers, be them PCs, Macs or Linux hasn't been a problem for years unless you as a user engage in downloading shady stuff from dodgy sources. The reason consoles are safer is that you can't do any dodgy downloads on them beyond the manufacturer's walled garden, similar to how mobile devices work, not because they have magic security pixie dust making them invulnerable to malware, especially since they share the same X86 hardware as PCs.

MaxBarraclough 6y ago
> The reason consoles are safer is that you can't do any dodgy downloads on them beyond the manufacturer's walled garden, similar to how mobile devices work, not because they have magic security pixie dust making them invulnerable to malware, especially since they share the same X86 hardware as PCs. That's not the whole story. The Xbox takes sandboxing very seriously, and provides isolation way beyond a typical PC. See for instance [0]. Recent generations of Xbox and PlayStation have been based on AMD64, but I don't see that this is a major factor. edit It's a pity they don't offer decent keyboard+mouse support. Being able to use a console as a serious desktop web browser would be a very useful feature. [0] https://youtu.be/U7VwtOrwceo?t=1180 https://youtu.be/U7VwtOrwceo?t=1180
- ascagnel_ 6y ago
  > It's a pity they don't offer decent keyboard+mouse support. Being able to use a console as a serious desktop web browser would be a very useful feature. Some games offer M+KB support, and I think the new Xboxes have some support at a system level. I’m not sure if that extends to the system UI, though.
  - MaxBarraclough 6y ago
    They never added mouse+keyboard support for Edge on Xbox One. Too early to say for the Series consoles but I suspect they'll disappoint again.

MaxBarraclough 6y ago

> I don't do home banking on my xbox. You probably could do this, as the console includes the Edge browser, including a Private Browsing feature. (At least, the Xbox One includes a pre-Chromium version of Edge, I'm not sure about the new Series consoles.) It doesn't strike me as a particularly bad idea, other than in terms of the user experience, likely with no support for keyboard and mouse.

ineedasername 6y ago

Blast radius really depends on just how dedicated you are. Yes, it's true that even a low or medium end gaming PC is going to have a much larger power source that can contribute to the fireworks if a small explosive is properly placed & detonated. PC enthusiasts will often point to this in order to support their choice of gaming hardware. This ignores the realities of modern day explosives, or even what can be cobbled together from household items. Any discernable difference between a PC & console all but disappears if they're detonated with even a modest explosive. Context matters as well: A PC is more likely to be in a clearer zone, at the very least for better ventilation. A console on the other hand is much more likely to be in an area that is more densely populated with other consumer electronics. The television alone is likely to be sufficiently large to make a more impressive field of debris than a PC. Obviously this is just taking the typical setups into account. All bets are off when dealing with a PC that has some truly exotic cooling mechanisms. Detonation under those conditions should, at minimum, be accompanied with evacuation orders for neighbors within a 3 to 4 block radius of your home.