> Yet allowing anything to be installed is the cesspit of Windows virus laden software.

Okay, I have seen this false choice enough times over several years and at this point it annoys me so much that I must speak up. No, Windows is (was? I have not used it for more than a decade) not the mess it is because it allows you to install anything. It is the mess it is because it there was no sensible source of approved software. The choice is not between anything goes and a walled garden, there is the middle ground of providing a solid source of approved software (frankly, I think Google has largely failed with this given the state of their Play store) and still allow side loading for cases such as the one mentioned in this very article. Heck, this was one of the amazing things I experienced when moving to Linux in 2005. You had 98% of your software approved and receiving updates through your OS, and then a game or two, oddball VPN, etc. installed in your home directory – it was endlessly refreshing.

Even more, I blame non-existent sandboxing. Anything could practically be root for a long time.

With proper permission control and isolated storage for apps, installing anything does not equal cesspit of virus-laden software.

> No, Windows is not the mess it is because it allows you to install anything. It is the mess it is because it there was no sensible source of approved software.

I completely disagree.

In particular, if there is a paid version in a store, then users will seek a free version outside of the store, and then receive a free bouquet of viruses. Or they seek a free movie or VPN, and Google suggests an application that isn't in the store: more free flowers installed.

Android has an approved store, and yet I have read articles lambasting the security of Apps, where the underlying reason was that users had gone side-loading. Fear damaging the brand.

What's your proof? The more likely reason for more malware targeting Windows is simply that Windows is by far the most popular operating system for desktops and laptops. In terms of market share nothing even comes close. So if I was making malware, I'd target Windows to maximize my value. On macOS for example you can install whatever apps you want, it's the same as Windows.

In over 20 years of downloading stuff using Windows, I never ever have got a single virus. It's almost as if it had to do with how you use the tool and not how the tool is constructed.