Operating Systems Types and Their Vulnerabilities (Coursework Sample)

Operating Systems Vulnerabilities
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Institution
Operating Systems Vulnerabilities
OS Definition
OS Fundamentals
Operating system (OS) entails a set of programs designed to complete one mutual task: hardware resources management. Operating systems also offer various services for application software. Essentially, an OS is an interface linking programs requesting in/out (I/O) and hardware (Silberschatz, Gagne & Galvin, 2018). This fundamental concept of OS makes it the most crucial component if of all system software programs. The tasks executed by an OS in any given scenario includes (but is not limited to) concealing hardware complexities from users, management if hardware's resources, and sharing of I/O among various programs using the central processing unit (CPU).
Types of Operating Systems
There exist several types of operating systems. The five of the most common operating systems are Microsoft Windows, Linux, Apple Mac OS, Apple's iOS, and Android. Crucially, an OS defines the file storage channels, among other important aspects involving security. While all types of OS aim to achieve the above-mentioned set of tasks, they differ in terms of the approaches they take while executing these tasks (Silberschatz, Gagne & Galvin, 2018). A case in point is where one cannot run a Windows program on a Linux system. Also, the access of the several OS types varies whereby some are designed and offered freely by groups of individuals around the globe like Linux, while others such as Microsoft’s Windows are commercial products. Similarly, different operating systems run on different types of hardware and are designed for different types of applications.
Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Windows has seen tremendous developments since its inception in 1985, and it has gained an unmistakable recognition globally, making it the most predominant OS for office and home computers. The OS latest version is Windows 10 and is currently offered across various devices such as tablets and smartphones. Also, developers have made significant attempts to make it available on some web and number-crunching server computers. In effect, most computer manufacturers have ensured that their devices support Windows as a marketing strategy (Zotov, Duncan & Szilagyi, 2012). The initial Windows version worked with a former Microsoft operating system called MS-DOS, which provided a modern graphical interface on top of DOS's traditional text-based commands. The OS has since employed a brand and a logo whose signature features include windows themselves – rectangle-shaped, on-panel screens – representing individual applications. The Windows Start menu is also an effective trademark that is easily accessible for users and helps in finding programs and files on their devices. It is worth contemplating that while the Microsoft company has put forward strategies to include versions of the Windows OS for smartphones, such efforts have been considerably less successful.
Linux Operating System. While a single company majorly initiates the individual development of most operating systems, Linux OS is developed by various companies. Linux Torvalds was the creator of the operating system in 1991. However, today, programmers across the globe collaborate on its open-source code and submit tweaks to the central kernel software and other programs. Another notable component of the OS is its wide usage by programmers as well as on corporate and scientific servers, including cloud computing