both of your choices are wrong. Microsoft is doing this because there is already malware that patches the NT kernel and boot manager, and Microsoft gets blamed

both of your choices are wrong. Microsoft is doing this because there is already malware that patches the NT kernel and boot manager, and Microsoft gets blamed when it happens: see things like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alureon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alureon, a rootkit which had a bug in it that caused the kernel to crash -- through no fault of its engineering team -- when Microsoft applied a security patch. you're being kind of a jerk assuming that Microsoft engineers aren't clever enough to nerf Linux like this, given its long history of hacks to both mess with its competitors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AARD_code http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AARD_code) and make sure its software works properly (see a lengthy paper on Windows PatchGuard here: http://uninformed.org/index.cgi?v=6&a=1&p=23 http://uninformed.org/index.cgi?v=6&a=1&p=23 and basically every post Raymond Chen makes about application compatibility on his blog here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/ http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/) if Microsoft wanted to kill Linux through technological means, it would be able to do it. the fact of the matter is, it doesn't, or even if it does, it would never be able to convince its hardware and software partners to go along with its scheme. Windows's support for UEFI secure boot, and its requirement that it ship turned on by default on logo-certified PCs, is a matter of reducing the number of things average people -- people who don't even know what Linux is, much less use it -- complain about Microsoft for, nothing more. (disclaimer: I work for Microsoft, but I'm not speaking officially on behalf of the company.)