I would like very much to compare Internet Explorer, since it is part of the operating system, to linux as a whole. As far as I know there are still several unfixed security holes in IE dating back as far as 2 years. Anyone who says that it takes a long time to repair linux flaws should look at IE and think again. Hopefully these bugs will be fixed for you windows users when Microsoft officially releases Windows XP SP2. Unfortunately SP2 might go as badly for some as SP1.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,105144,00.asp