HOW-TO: Giving up Ubuntu

[Lee Braiden]

On Wednesday 02 November 2005 17:41, Michael Shergold wrote:
> I've kept Open Office though instead of MS Office so I'm still committed a
> bit to open architecture and eventually Linux if someone (perhaps
> OpenOffice.org ) can pull strings and get their act together so that we
> don't have to become geeks to get everything to work.

The difference is, with Linux, you know you don't know, until you learn it and 
make it work for you.  Then, it keeps working.  With Windows, you're lured 
into a false sense of security, and you'll think a computer is working fine 
when in fact it's getting filled with viruses, and going downhill on a daily 
basis.

But, if you're happy with Windows, and it does what you need, then by all 
means continue.  Just please, remember, at a minimum, you'll need to:

* install a firewall
* install an anti-virus program
* install anti-spyware software
* keep them all up-to-date with the latest security patches (read their 
websites for the latest security news).  This applies to any other software 
you install too.  You don't see this problem on Linux because of apt (ie, 
synaptic) but it's a serious issue that you need to be aware of on windows, 
and work to stay ahead of.
* use windows update aggressively to keep windows itself up to date.

I'd also recommend switching to firefox and sunbird rather than IE and Outlook 
too.  Or at least, go into IE's security settings and lock it down as much as 
possible.  Learn about all the options in the security tab, and how to enable 
the web features you need, without giving sites too much power over your 
computer.

Doing this will really help to safeguard your privacy and to help ensure that 
your computer doesn't get used to attack other computers on the net.  It may 
sound like a lot of work, but really, it *is* the minimum you need to do.  
Otherwise, you might as well publish your credit card information on a 
website for all to see.

-- 
Lee Braiden
http://www.DigitalUnleashed.com