There will always be new versions of malware appearing that can endanger any machine, the vast majority of which will target Windows machines for reasons which I will not bother to rehash here. If you are looking for an OS that is as virus-proof as possible, set up any pristine OS install on a machine and never connect it to the Internet or allow any new programs to be installed on it. Otherwise, you are always taking a chance.
Linux is more secure than the Win-xx OS in many ways, however besides the fact that Linux is much less likely to be infected than an equivalent Windows machine there is the fact that thousands of coders all over the world examine it closely before releasing a certified version to the public, and there are also thousands of coders constantly scanning for problems and issuing fixes for any that might be found
Indeed, many times it has been the 'nix crowd that has identified a bug and issued it before the windows people even knew there was a problem. Sometimes MS did not even bother to post the fix and simply allowed the public patches to be undenied by the company and merely included in a later patch.
All this has been stated many times before on many forums and many threads. In a nutshell, you do not need or want to run any windows programs on a linux computer, and the majority of them will not run even under an emulater. You do not need any third-party virus scanners, photo editors, drawing programs, DVD and CD burning software, etc. to perform pretty much all tasks by default in Linux.
Yes, learning to run Linux is having to learn to use a sometimes-different way of doing things and often under different names, but the same is true about any instance when you "upgraded" your Windows computer to a newer version. Think about it: is the way you use your XP box the same way as what was necessary to run Windows 95?
Feel free to remain with the Windows version you are most familiar with. Whether you need to upgrade or simply get to the point eventually that you realize that you have to, then you are going to have to learn a new interface (desktop) anyway.
At least with linux, you will not be FORCED to purchase a newer OS AND purchase newer third-party programs to be able to use your computer again -or even a new one.
Besides having disc-burning, graphics, and office included by default in Linux; if you do not like your desktop (interface) you can freely change to any of dozens of others at any time you wish. Free. No charge.
Typing too fast.
Please understand: I wasn’t looking for a sales presentation on Linux. But I read your post anyway.
The intent of my postings ON THIS THREAD got lost more than once. My stated intent was to replace XP, which you have not helped me to do, with a free OS as good as XP that home users familiar only with Windows XP could understand, use for a year or two, and be able to install compatible programs they want as they can now in XP without resorting to command lines. (Picture someone elderly without your amount of education.)
In other another post, you listed several names of Linux distros or offshoots or whatever you Linux users call them. I recognized the names you listed but name recognition alone did not help me.
Please; no more lectures to me on the benefits of Linux in general. (Whew)
I’ll look elsewhere. Maybe I’ll find a suitable free OS; perhaps not.