News Analysis: Google is new to the operating system market, so it has to demonstrate that it understands how to build and maintain a secure Web OS. The history of Windows security has shown there are many avenues of attack against a desktop operating system. There are even more potential attack strategies for an online OS. But whether Google has learned the many hard lessons of Web security is very much in doubt at this point.
Much has been made of Google's intentions in the operating system space. The company has made it clear that it wants its products to be used on netbooks. It wants to be the first major company to deliver an online operating system that can compete with the likes of Windows 7 Starter Edition and Linux distributions. But is Google really prepared for the challenges that await it? Creating and maintaining an operating system is a dirty business. It takes a lot of effort and understanding of what malware producers are trying to do.

Realizing that, Google needs to be prepared. It needs to understand that how well it secures the online world means nothing when it comes to operating system security. Sure, its creation will be an online OS, which makes it a little different from Windows or Mac OS X, but the basic premise remains: Malicious hackers want to take control over operating systems for their own financial gain. It's sad, but true.

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