Is the x86 Architecture Less Secure?

An anonymous reader asks: "Paul Murphy at CIO Today reports that a specific Windows buffer overflow vulnerability ' depends on the rigid stack-order execution and limited page protection inherent in the x86 architecture. If Windows ran on Risc, that vulnerability would still exist, but it would be a non-issue because the exploit opportunity would be more theoretical than practical.' And implies that other Windows vulnerabilities are actually facilitated by having an x86 chip." How does the x86 processor compare with other architectures when it comes to processor based vulnerabilities? How well have newer additions, like the Execute Disable Bit, helped in practical situations?

thats because

[Anonymous Coward]

all x86 processors have an evil bit

Happy Paul Murphy Day

[Anonymous Coward]

What, is there only one tech writer in the world? (See article two or three down on SCO)

Well...

[autocracy]

F00FC7C8

Still here? Dammit...

big deal..

[pixas]

..so what if I have 0.999997 viruses in my CPU?

1993 called - they want their flamewar back

[nosferatu-man]

Thanks, Slashdot -- I actually read that boatload of ignorant gibberish, and now I'm measurably dumber than I was before I clicked the link. Keep this up and I too will be making specious arguments about "RISC" and "CISC".

Not the fault of the OS at all!

[carcosa30]

SO! We now know the truth: Microsoft is blameless for the shoddy security of their products. It's all the fault of the x86 architecture.

After all, how could Microsoft be expected to learn the intricacies of their primary platform and write code that does what it's supposed to?

We have been lied to.

Re:Is this the Astrodome?

[stevesliva]

Draw dubious conclusions from circumstantial evidence that question the anti-wintel open source orthodoxy, get cited on Slashdot!

Right this instant, I'm working on my "Windows better for pirating media files" opinion piece. It's a surefire winner.

Re:PR as Journalism (not)

[Anonymous Coward]

Murphy and Graham? That's a match made in heaven if ever there was one. Imagine the articles; "SCO own LISP copyrights, offer licenses to those suffering from speech impediments".

Yellow wheaties.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Yeah, someone did piss in my Wheaties this morning."

That was me. Sorry.

Re:Bad analogy

[leshert]

Anyway, you forget, this is slashdot - car analogies get mod points.

Yes, but only cdr analogies get +1, Funny.

Virus Execution Coprocessor

[skingers6894]

I think a future version of X86 should have virus execution assistance in hardware.

Given that you just can't stop the things, why not offload the burden of running them from the processor?

BIPs (Bots Infected per Second) could be the metric for performance.