[brownbat]

That makes a lot of sense, thanks. I had always sort of seen Linux as easier to update, since it's a single command, but you're right... that command doesn't necessarily get you all the way. Things are going to vary from distro to distro, and none of them will necessarily roll in the bleeding edge version of whatever thing you want the day it launches. And then, custom code is vital on a lot of machines for a lot of applications, and it will introduce its own dependencies.

That said, these factors really complicate security advice on patch management. If customers could be trusted to lock things down and keep an eye on them, that would be a much better world. And I'm sure a lot of admins out there are more than capable, but I worry about the Dunning Krueger effect catching some admins off guard.

But ultimately, this is just a battle of emphasis more than disagreement. The answer isn't "everyone should always patch everything," it just depends on a lot of factors.