The Linux source code is freel

Answer:The open availability of an operating system's source code has both positive and negative impacts on security,and it is probably a mistake to say that it is definitely a good thing or a bad thing.Linux's source code is open to scrutiny by both the good guys and the bad guys.In its favor,this has resulted in the code being inspected by a large number of people who are concerned about security and who have eliminated any vulnerabilities they have found.

On the other hand is the"security through obscurity"argument,which states that attackers'jobs are made easier if they have access to the source code of the system they are trying to penetrate.By denying attackers information about a system,the hope is that it will be harder

for those attackers to find and exploit any security weaknesses that may be present. In other words,open source code implies both that security weaknesses can be found and fixed faster by the Linux community,increasing the security of the system;and that attackers can more easily find any weaknesses that do remain in Linux.There are other implications for source code availability,however.One is that if a weakness in Linux is found and exploited,then a fix for

that problem can be created and distributed very quickly.(Typically, security problems in Linux tend to have fixes available to the public within 24 hours of their discovery.)Another is that if security is a major concern to particular users,then it is possible for those users to review

the source code to satisfy themselves of its level of security or to make any changes that they wish to add new security measures.