I want to share some security information about Linux. A normal installation of Linux, any distro, is not secure from targeted hacking. Search and you will find Linux does not get infected much only because the computer was not targeted, the moment it is targeted by a pro hacker Linux is easier to hack than Windows. To be secure from 0 day attacks, the Linux needs to be "hardened". Two easy ways to harden it is to install Apparmor, it stop popular programs from doing things they are not known to do, and Firejail, it sandboxes browsers to prevent them from making changes to your system. This blocks attacks that originate from your programs, especially browsers. To stop other remaining types of attacks you need to install GrSecurity. It makes the Linux impossible to hack at kernal level. Companies like Intel use GrSecurity to secure their own enterprise hardware. The problem is it is difficult to install, I read instructions and cannot handle it. Need to do "compiling" in long steps. There is one distro that come with GrSecurity easily set up, it is Arch, but that distro is hard to install too, it is all text based and no GUI.... If someone know easy way to install GrSecurity, tell us. Also I am glad to see this thread is made sticky, it will live on
Even if you switch to Linux or invent your own OS, there is no way for you to be 100% sure that all your personal data and privacy will be protected. We all thought that previous Windows 7 and 8 were much better and safer, but now you can witness new updates that dispute with privacy issues. There is not much you cn do to protect your information, but you can try a few steps. First and foremost, disable all the unnecessary features in Express Settings and leave only those that you seem comfortable with. The question with personalized ad ID is a bit harder, and you can't easily disable this function unles you go to Microsoft Personalized Ad Preferences website and disable this feature several times over.
Two questions for ya? How do you store your personal information? Why is there a need to store it on an information platform to allow potential hackage/leakage.
There is never a 100% probability. When crossing the street there is a little chance that you get hit by a car. When you leave your wallet back in your car there is a chance that one might become attracted and breaks it to steal. Finally each user has a own idea of security and privacy and tries to realize it/ avoids to attract attention.... People saying I don't care about privacy I have nothing to hide do not get what privacy means. Each person cares about privacy...it is a human attribute. P.S.: Please keep in mind this thread belongs now to the Linux section. Discussions about window's security are OT.
In my case, I currently use Windows 7 with all the crap removed. I love Linux, but it's the idea of proprietary software that makes Windows easy. Why would you WANT to switch to Linux. I would use it, but there are some things I need from Windows. To use Linux, you must have patience and an open diagnostic mindset.
By personal information I meant browsing history, e-mails, text messages, passwords and contact info, which will inevitably be there. And which is harvested by Microsoft's features like Cortana, OneDrive or Wi-Fi Sense for unknown purposes, or officially "to serve us better".
What is the difference about Linux Mint Editions being them Cinnamon, MATE, KDE or Xfce? What are the basics a newcomer should know about commands and how the system works, these kind of stuff (just to have a simple idea, not to complicate things)?
Cinnamon, MATE, KDE, XFCE are the desktop environments or the UI. Most newcomers like Cinnamon for some strange reason. It's a fine DE, but the menu IMO leaves something to be desired. I would say try out Mint/Cinnamon and just play with it for a while, no need to use the terminal for anything and you'll get the grasp of things pretty quick just browsing the menu.
Installing stuff via the command interface is with "sudo apt-get install NAME_OF_THE_PROGRAM" while sudo evaluates the command to "admin" rights, apt-get is the default program manager and the install is the command. You could also use "sudo apt-get purge" to remove stuff (or "sudo apt-get remove") to remove the program but keep the configuration files. Most distros have a installation manager with a GUI so you might not need to do this often. Don't remove stuff that was pre-installed with the distro. Everything in Linux starts with the root directory / (like a C drive), and if you plug a new device it is mounted as a folder in /media. Most distros show devices as drives not to confuse Windows users but it's cool if you know where they are. As a default user you get one folder in the / directory and it's your home folder, that's where you put stuff in. You could make it on a different partition when you are installing Linux, if you worry about space. If you want to do something specific that doesn't have a GUI representation, it is usually done with a configuration file of the program/component and you could find with Google what you need to change. Windows does this with the registry, Linux doesn't have a registry, just configuration files. That's good because in Windows when the registry gets bloated you need to reinstall, while Linux doesn't get slower with more stuff installed.
About a month or so ago I downloaded and installed Linux Mint 17.2 Rafaela. It supprised me how far Linux has come. As of today I haven't had to use the command line but just a few times. It automatically updates everything with a few clicks of the mouse. Most things I do with it runs as good as windows 10 and some programs actually run faster like Firefox loads quicker and uses the same plugins. It looks good and runs smooth. I'm not talking games here, I have a computer not a game box. I have it customized with transparency features and it looks great. I don't use it all the time, maybe a few days a week. Right now I'm in a tossup between my main OS being Windows 7 or Windows 10 (w/WMC installed). Right now Windows 7 seems to me to be faster and more dependable than Windows 10. I bet there are many people that could use Linux if they used it for only for web surfing, email, and the usual things lots of people use a computer for. About the only thing keeping me from using Linux as my main OS is the Windows feature Windows Media Center. I watch OTA television on my pc every day and Windows 7 does a great job. Windows 10 with the 'unofficial' Windows Media Center still has a few minor bugs on it.
@wahoospa: That's -exactly- what I do. I dual boot Windows 7 / and Linux Mint Raphaella". it works well, and if I get the urge to explore, I'll start digging around.
No matter whether you are willing to upgrade to Win 10 or move to Linux, there is a good blog by Emnisoft, which provides with great variety of articles and cyber security information that will be interesting for everyone. Emnisoft offers theit anti-malware tool that will help you solve privacy issues and prevent emerging threats even before they were found by other means or tools.