Ubuntu 21.04 Will Finally Stop Making New Home Directories World-Readable

[Citan]

Another area where Windows has long been more secure than Linux.
Another area is that Linux still does not support Secure Attention Key (SAK). On Windows when you press Ctrl+Alt+Del to login you now the authentication prompt is real, when you login on Linux you never know if the authentication prompt is real or spoofed to steal your credentials.

"Another area where Windows has long been more secure than Linux."
LOL
I could and still can access any neighbouring user's files from Windows 95 to today, including all personal ones, and I can even write into some directories... On top of being able to access several system files that could lead to bug/breakage if altered/deleted (possibly by accident).
While on Linux, as long as I was on Debian or (long before) Mandriva, I always had to sudo to configure cross access to users, and that was nice, right and perfectly logical. Shared directories concept exist for that very reason.

That said, I was unaware of that big crappy decision Ubuntu made... Since 2006! Yikes!
Since I was the only "true" user on my systems (although I do sometimes create "specialized" user profiles) with ACL, never paid attention to that.
Very much a 'copy Windows at all costs' decision that was. It's nice they finally fix the mess, even 15 years later...

[Citan]

I was talking about desktop distributions not server distributions, and when it comes to desktop distribution everyone is using Ubuntu.

That's hilariously wrong.

"A majority is using Ubuntu" would be a fair trade, but *everyone*? Ubuntu has been losing reputation since several years for various reasons. And while those would be probably oblivious to "regular" people, those usually defer to their savvy "geek" friends when considering an attempt to use a Linux distribution as main system.
I'd expect Fedora, Linux Mint, pure Debian, and some rolling releases to each get a few percent of all Linux users.
Plus those proselytists help, I hope at least, configuring machines for those users.

Besides that...
In an era where computer capable enough for daily browsing and work, how many people still actually share a computer? I'll hazard that in 'rich' countries at least 50% of people have their own computer.
And if it's a family sharing, then the problem is far more about privacy than security really (well, ok, there is a security risk as soon as you'd have a youth opening the door to a virus but that's a far more plausible hypothesis on Windows than on Linux for various reasons).

[Danny3]

I would be happier if they would change the wifi management to IWD.

[motang]

Ah ha, so that's why I can browse my wife's home directory. Here I thought I was a cool admin.

[k1e0x]

Oh, so that any application can spoof the login prompt to steal user credentials is a privacy issue, not a security issue. Either way, whatever you call it, Linux has this issue and Windows does not.

I think it's not added because it's not that important of a thing to add. How much security does this really provide? If the system is compromised they would just use a keylogger and skip the "spoofing window".

It's a check mark placebo security feature. it doesn't add any real security to the system. Linux is still far more secure because a regular desktop user on Linux isn't Root/Admin like on Windows.

Microsoft is simply not comfortable making security changes that would inconvenience the user and they never have been .. well.. I'm sorry but security by it's nature is an inconvenience. Due to that focus they can not produce secure software. Ever use OpenBSD? It's the most user hostile OS I can think of, not by design but a by product of their security focus.

For a desktop I'd give an honorable mention to Apple. They seem to do a pretty good job walking the line between convenience and security. it takes multiple steps to even install untrusted software on a Mac (and you have to manually approve each and every user directory it has access to) and it's impossible to do on iOS. On windows all you have to do is click yes, like you've done 1000 times before.

[jo-erlend]

No, because when you reboot on Windows you cannot access the system unless you login.

Yes you can. Just boot a Linux system and all security has been bypassed.

[oiaohm]

No, because when you reboot on Windows you cannot access the system unless you login.

This is not exactly true. http://pgina.org/ Anyone who has played around with gina stuff in windows knows that you can run applications before login. These programs for non encrypted users can be accessing the user data.

Windows is configured by default that you cannot access system without login that is true. But windows can be configured that you can access system without login. Like running cmd shell instead of default login interface yes this is a valid configuration for embedded usage of Windows. If you can access system without login with Linux depends on distribution there are ones where you must login just like Windows. I am not saying distributions should not be pushed to do this more commonly but its a mistake to think you cannot access system with windows without login. It very important to be aware that you can access a windows system without login when you start adding gina solutions that you audit them properly because the complete set of cards can come falling down all around you.

[uid313]

Yes you can. Just boot a Linux system and all security has been bypassed.

You cannot boot a Linux system on it, because only Windows is installed, and you can't plug in any USB devices, because if you at a airport, library or store or something, then you only have access to the keyboard and the monitor, the computer itself is hidden out of sight and locked away so you cannot plug in any USB devices to reboot or to boot Linux.

[uid313]

This is not exactly true. http://pgina.org/ Anyone who has played around with gina stuff in windows knows that you can run applications before login. These programs for non encrypted users can be accessing the user data.

Windows is configured by default that you cannot access system without login that is true. But windows can be configured that you can access system without login. Like running cmd shell instead of default login interface yes this is a valid configuration for embedded usage of Windows. If you can access system without login with Linux depends on distribution there are ones where you must login just like Windows. I am not saying distributions should not be pushed to do this more commonly but its a mistake to think you cannot access system with windows without login. It very important to be aware that you can access a windows system without login when you start adding gina solutions that you audit them properly because the complete set of cards can come falling down all around you.

This does not let a malicious user to run anything by restarting Windows, its only possible for the system administrator to configure scripts to run before login. On a default system, you can't run any applications before login.

[oiaohm]

This does not let a malicious user to run anything by restarting Windows, its only possible for the system administrator to configure scripts to run before login. On a default system, you can't run any applications before login.

That is the catch. It can allow a malicious user to run anything by restarting windows if you have played with the login stuff of windows. In fact to recover active directory from particular failures where you cannot log into the server you in fact turn the winlogin screen into CMD.exe. So you are not logged in running programs as the winlogin programs user.

Windows in design does not mandate that you have to login before running applications. Windows in default configuration forbids it. Different hardded Linux distributions have protected the grub/bootloader menu so you cannot alter the Linux kernel command line and single usermode needs a password before you can do anything that route.

Yes redhat and debian distributions single user mode has required a password to login. The reason why you can get around on most Linux distributions is you did not set a password on your boot loader forbidding editing.

Hardden Linux distributions will have you setting the bootloader password on installation if that is set reboot system does not allow malicious user to run anything without login either. Windows boot-loader does not contain a editor accessible on boot. Yet if you do the modify windows boot loader crap you can add a menu entry to log into the system as SYSTEM user same as the winlogin with cmd.exe as well so if Windows bootloader had a editor without a password set you would be just as screwed over as leaving grub without a password with Linux..