Having been in Web Hosting industry for last 9 years, we have seen that many users have certain myths with regards to the Hosting platforms. This article of mine intends to dispel those myths so that a user can make a better decision while buying a hosting service.

Myth 1 : Websites hosted on Linux platform cannot be opened from a Windows system.
Though absolutely wrong, but many end users do believe it, To cite a few examples : Google.com, ndtv.com, ibnlive.com use a non Windows platform and you can still view them on your PC. Bottom line is all web traffic primarily uses two protocols : http and https. Any server implementing them, can be accessed from any client browser.

Myth 2 : Linux platform is better as compared to Windows from security point of view.
This again is a total myth. Both Linux and Windows server can be equally secure or un-secure. It depends mostly on the system admin, the web application and last but not the least, the Webmaster (the hosting user).

Myth 3 : Windows platform is more stable as compared to Linux.
It is actually the other way around. A Linux server rarely requires a restart or a reboot. Whereas for a Windows server, for certain updates to be pushed, restart/reboot is required.

Myth 4 : Windows platform is supported by a Corporation whereas Linux does not have any support channel.
Again its a total fallacy. There are several big Corporation supporting Linux like IBM, Redhat, HP etc. by providing updates to various Linux projects like Kernel development, driver development etc. Apart from these developers, there are several highly qualified and motivated individuals contributing a large chunk of code/updates to various Linux projects. Also one can find more support resources for Linux issues than Windows. Well last point is my personnel opinion and one only needs to Google to verify the same.

I hope this article serves its intended purpose and enable you to take a better decision.