It is not the intent of the policy to deem operating systems as a whole, either supported or not, to be unacceptable. Suggested remedies take the form of applying software patches, changing configuration settings, changing passwords, and the like. None of the remedies suggest replacing one operating system with a totally different one. The source of some of this information will be the SANS Institute consensus list of key vulnerabilities. Key security gaps that need to be closed may vary depending upon the type of device.
Some examples follow.
All device owners should ensure passwords used on their devices are not easily guessable by attackers. Owners of personal computers should install and run anti-virus software on these devices and apply updates from the software vendor as they become available. Owners of personal computers and servers should apply security-related updates to the operating system running on their devices as these updates become available from operating system vendors. Examples of a few operating systems found at UVa are Windows 2000, Windows NT, and Red Hat Linux. Owners of UNIX and Linux servers should switch off unneeded services to eliminate the risk of these being exploited.