Ugh, I hate when people ask this question, caus epeople get all defensive like I shall here:
The perl board is just as secure as SE to whomever was saying SE was more secure. In fact all boards are just as secure as one another as they are all viable to holes being found.
As to hosts refusing the perl version - that was with previous older version of yab gold, many hosts have lifted that stupid requirement now
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Now, off the defense, the BEST way to pick your board, is to try out each of them, and see which one you like better. After all, it's not me who's ognna use your board, and it's nnot any of the amdins or users round here. YOU will be in charge of your board, so if that means picking this baord, the perl version, phpbb, iB, or whatever, it's YOUR choice, and you should be the one to make it. You got the power - use it