14 DAY TRIAL // It looks like Google is purging itself of the Windows operating system. After the very publicized attacks on its infrastructure, which Google says have originated from China and targeted Windows machines, the giant company is trying to phase out the use of the Microsoft OS for security reasons. Google hasn’t confirmed this officially, but the Financial Times cites several sources that say this is the case.
The move, according to the report, started as early as January, when the attack was made public. Since then, new employees were given a choice between Mac OS X or Linux but not Windows. Existing ones had to switch as well, with many of them opting for a Mac rather than a PC.
Still, at least at first, some were still allowed to have Windows on their laptops, though not on their desktops. And employees can still get a Windows machine, but they require authorization from higher levels to do so. The report says some employees were not that happy with having to switch operating systems, but, generally, there were no big issues.
Obviously, even if the report is accurate, it doesn’t mean that Google is getting rid of Windows entirely. It couldn’t, even if it wanted to, all of its products have to be developed and tested on Windows as well. This is true for web apps, Gmail, Docs, and so on, but it is even more true for desktop apps like Google’s Chrome web browser.
Since Windows still dominates the operating-system market, being present on more than 90 percent of the world’s computers, Google has to cater to its customers, most of whom are using a Windows PC.
The reason why Google is switching is that Windows is generally less secure than the competing operating systems. This has to do with its prevalence, attackers are going to target the most popular systems, but also with some bad security models, especially in older versions of the operating system.