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Author Topic: Which operating system do you reccomend?  (Read 9963 times)

ryangoslink

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Which operating system do you reccomend?
« on: 13 Mar 2017, 07:31 »

Hey guys, don't know how knowledgeable you are on this, but which operating system would you reccomend?
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cesium133

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Re: Which operating system do you reccomend?
« Reply #1 on: 13 Mar 2017, 07:43 »

The answer depends on what you want to use it for, and if you're planning to install it on an existing computer or buying a new one.
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bhtooefr

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Re: Which operating system do you reccomend?
« Reply #2 on: 13 Mar 2017, 18:56 »

I concur - it depends on what you're doing.

Also, this would best be moved over to CLIKC.
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celticgeek

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Re: Which operating system do you reccomend?
« Reply #3 on: 13 Mar 2017, 19:38 »

Linux Mint 18.1 KDE
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hedgie

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Re: Which operating system do you reccomend?
« Reply #4 on: 14 Mar 2017, 11:18 »

For a good general-purpose OS, Mint KDE is a solid one.  It's also a bit of a gateway Linux, since everything pretty much works without a bunch of esoteric knowledge.  And KDE as a desktop defaults to being fairly familiar to anyone familiar with Windows with the potential to look/work like pretty much anything if one is up to poking around with its near countless settings (my setup is fairly mac-like since that's my background).
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ryangoslink

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Re: Which operating system do you reccomend?
« Reply #5 on: 20 Mar 2017, 02:29 »

I plan to install it on an existing computer, currently I have Windows 8, however I'm getting so much spyware. I looked into the Linux that some of you are proposing and it looks pretty cool. I was doing some reading about Linux, and the security is better than Windows.

For a good general-purpose OS, Mint KDE is a solid one.  It's also a bit of a gateway Linux, since everything pretty much works without a bunch of esoteric knowledge.  And KDE as a desktop defaults to being fairly familiar to anyone familiar with Windows with the potential to look/work like pretty much anything if one is up to poking around with its near countless settings (my setup is fairly mac-like since that's my background).

Thanks for this! Will definitely look more into it.
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bhtooefr

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Re: Which operating system do you reccomend?
« Reply #6 on: 20 Mar 2017, 03:04 »

I wouldn't say that Linux security is better than Windows, though... on the desktop, it is more obscure than Windows, meaning it's less likely that you'll get a vulnerability specifically targeting desktop Linux or its applications. But, the actual security architecture... I'm gonna lean towards Windows being better in that regard.

Ultimately, though, a lot of the security of any platform is how you administer it. Isolate potentially insecure things from the rest of the system, and use the minimum privileges necessary to get a task done. Keep things patched. Use an adblocker - that's one of the bigger ways spyware gets in, through malicious ads.

In any case, what tasks are you doing with your computer? If everything you do is capable of being done in a web browser, Chrome OS might be a valid choice - it does a good job of ensuring you're at minimum privileges without an undue burden on you, it automatically updates, and you can get your choice of adblocker from the Chrome Web Store.
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pwhodges

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Re: Which operating system do you reccomend?
« Reply #7 on: 20 Mar 2017, 03:54 »

Windows security is fine in itself (I believe there are now more web servers around the world running on Windows servers than Linux, though I'm open to correction on that).  But because of the ubiquity of Windows in the usage of unsophisticated users (meant as a simple observation, not a criticism), those are the systems most targetted by malware. 

Most malware enters systems these days through simple social engineering, making the user invite the malware in and permit it to install - attachments on emails, tempting clicks on poorly administered websites (even QC gets the occasional dodgy advert that Jeph has to get blocked manually), and the like.  Real-life security means having software to help you resist those ways in - decent virus checkers (the built-in Windows one is not adequate - I recommend Eset NOD32, though it's not free), and popup-blocking and ad-blocking in the browser are the main ones.  And on top of that, vigilance and common sense:  Can that deal really be that good?  Do you really want that widget that you've lived your whole life without?  Plus awareness of where the risks are most concentrated - porn sites and illegal torrent sites are prime places for your system to be bombarded with attacks.

On the whole, I suggest that if you are canny enough to handle a Linux system, you should be canny enough to keep a Windows system in good order.  That's not a good reason to avoid Linux, though, if you want to use it anyway; but depending on what you use you computer for you may find, as I do, that there are simply too many essential programs that are not available on it.
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Re: Which operating system do you reccomend?
« Reply #8 on: 20 Mar 2017, 06:30 »

I'd bow to pwhodge's & hedgie's experience - just chiming in to say that I've kept my Dad's machine rather healthy simply by setting up dedicated Admin-, and user accounts on Win 7. Set everything essential to auto-update, presto. He's the kind of user who gets scared when I move an icon on the desktop, so that setup alone helps a lot to keep the system clean (Drawback is that pretty much every time I visit, I spend an afternoon resolving little tangles, or installing the new printer etc.)

For my own machine, I use Win 7, with the same user/admin setup - simply to get myself to think before I click.  Avast anti-vir, Zone-Alarm, and some plugins for Firefox like Adblock+. Confession: I've never really gotten my head into the privileges system in Windows - the Linux one is simpler - I've managed to shut myself out of a goodly chunk of my own harddrive once on Win7...  :oops:

Probably not that complicated, it's just that I've been too lazy to dig into it until now, and haven't worked from home in a while, so my machine is pretty much setup just for browse & play atm.
« Last Edit: 20 Mar 2017, 07:32 by Case »
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hedgie

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Re: Which operating system do you reccomend?
« Reply #9 on: 23 Mar 2017, 21:38 »

On the whole, I suggest that if you are canny enough to handle a Linux system, you should be canny enough to keep a Windows system in good order.  That's not a good reason to avoid Linux, though, if you want to use it anyway; but depending on what you use you computer for you may find, as I do, that there are simply too many essential programs that are not available on it.

I'll admit that I'm a bit biased, considering that I haven't run windows as a primary OS since '99, and I certainly don't trust it.  (full disclosure, two of my computers are Linux only, one is a dual-boot b/n win10 (for games) and Linux, and my phone is iOS).  But even on *nix, there are the basic security precautions that should be followed (adblockers and flashblockers are essential, as is general cluefulness) .  I have used the security module on YaST to lock-down the machine as much as is acceptable to me, and use novell apparmour on applications that connect online.

Edit: Got distracted from what I wanted to say in the first place.  Some software not working can be a bit of a problem.  Many things work quite well under WINE, and are pretty much effortless, and others are a Herculean task if possible at all.  Some are just strange (like FFX and FFX-2 which run great, though the launcher doesn't work, and unless one knows Japanese, are unplayable).
« Last Edit: 23 Mar 2017, 21:52 by hedgie »
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