Maybe I'm lucky, but my XP Home Edition is the most stable, reliable and useful version of Windows I've ever owned ... and I've been at this PC stuff for 20 years. Security is a concern, sure, but taking precautions (firewall, anti-spyware, anti-virus) seems to keep things secure.
I am running Fedora Core 4 and I am using what they supply for Internet browsing....
I keep my XP machines off the Internet as much as possible,,,,,
I spend NO TIME or MONEY for Security precautions!
Fedora has a built in Firewall!
One precaution that has served me well, but no one seems to pay attention to: Don't download and install every piece of cr@p program you find on the internet.