Posted on 04/04/2018 3:53:50 AM PDT by ShadowAce
I’ve been running Linux on the desktop for decades. When I was starting with it, Linux was, comparatively, harder to use than the GUI-based operating systems then available from Apple and Microsoft. That was then. This is now.
Today, Linux, especially such distributions as openSUSE, Ubuntu and, my favorite, Linux Mint, are just as easy to use as macOS and Windows. And they don’t have the security bugs.
What’s that? You don’t mind dealing with a few bugs? Well, on the latest Patch Tuesday, as Woody Leonhard put it, an “enormous number of patches spewed out of Microsoft this month, with two ponderous cumulative updates.” Every month, we see a new flood of critical Windows updates. Maybe updating Windows is your idea of a good time. It’s not mine.
As for Apple, a “shameful” security flaw was discovered in macOS last fall, and the malware rate for the OS went up 270% last year. If you still think Macs are secure, you haven’t been paying attention.
No, if you want a desktop operating system with a real proven security record, you want Linux. As David Taylor reported recently, “The clear consensus among experts is that Linux is the most secure operating system.”
OK, so you’re sold on the security factor, but you still don’t want to commit to an OS that doesn’t run your favorite applications? Nowadays, the alternatives that are available are excellent. For everyday work, you can substitute LibreOffice or even Microsoft Office Online for Microsoft Office, use Gmail instead of Outlook, and you’re good to go.
I know, I know: “Using Linux is just too hard!” Please.
The Linux desktop hasn’t been hard to use for ages. You can go weeks — months — without touching a shell.
(Excerpt) Read more at computerworld.com ...
Not everyone hates Windows. If Linux had to run and be kept current on the wide range of platforms and massive software base that Windows has had over the years, it would be just as unwieldy, maybe more.
I cut the Microsoft chord 4 years ago. I’ve run 2 different versions of Zorin Lite and now the latest version of Linux Mint. You can run most windows programs under “Wine” for those few programs that you can’t find equivalents for in the Linux-world. Libre Office is great!
Can any regular windows (Word, Excel, Access, Visio) program run on LinuxMint? Can Firefox and Thunderbird run on LinuxMint? All WITHOUT creating a “virtual” windows environment for them under Linux?
I have often wondered if the “security” of Linux is less related to less coding errors but instead due to how it is less popular and thereby not a major target of spyware/hackers/viruses because those that produce that malware are going for the bigger targets. Is there demonstrated failed attempts to intentionally infest a LinuxMint machine with such malware?
Because the primary reason I have a computer is for video games and Linux will not run them without endless tweaks?
Incorrect. First, Linux runs on a much wider variety of hardware than Windows does.
Second, there are more software packages for Linux than Windows. Most people are unaware of this because they are typically limited to their desktop. That's not a bad thing, it just limits the scope of their awareness.
Not in years. Most distributions will run as a Live CD or Live USB so you can try it out and if you like it, install it right from the desktop gui.
There’s a handful of utilities to create a live usb. PenDriveLinux is one of the more popular ones. It runs on windows and will create the live usb from the ISO you download.
These live usb sticks are also handy for when you have broken windows that won’t even start up. You can pop this usb in there and at least be able to get in and save your files/docs.
I’ve used several distros but I finally settled on kubuntu.
They can, but it would be much easier to download and install LibreOffice. It is more than 97% compatible with MS Office, and my co-workers at work do not even know I'm using it instead of MS Office.
I have often wondered if the “security” of Linux is less related to less coding errors but instead due to how it is less popular and thereby not a major target of spyware/hackers/viruses because those that produce that malware are going for the bigger targets. Is there demonstrated failed attempts to intentionally infest a LinuxMint machine with such malware?
Linux security is based on fundamental design differences from Windows. It was never designed, like Windows, to be a single-user system. Network connectivity and multi-user was built-in from the very beginning. Windows, OTOH, was initially designed as a single-user system, and they have also been committed to provide backward compatibility. That hurts your security.
Also, if you wanted the biggest target in the world, you'd try to crack linux servers. The Internet runs on Linux, and the main DNS servers for the entire Internet are on Linux. You can't get much bigger than that.
A lot of people like the Ubuntu/Debian variations. I just don’t. Probably due to history and comfort. I started out on the Red Hat side and I’ve just stayed there.
Or "Wine"
Do Windows apps attract old virii?
It’s so secure, you can’t run any good games on it.
Windows OS attract viruses....period.
I use Linux all day. I don’t want to go home to it. Besides it doesn’t run Call of Duty or Battlefield.
The only thing I’ve found lacking in the Linux world is a MS Visio-compatible app. Otherwise, my workaday Lenovo T530 runs Linux Mint 18.3 from an SSD. I run MikroTik WinBox under WINE with no issues.
The one grain of sand in this is that I can’t get Cradlepoints Net Cloud Perimeter client to run under Mint 18.3
That is super cool
There are native versions of Firefox and Thunderbird for Linux. Many distros ship with those already installed.
The “less popular” part is only sort of true - consider the wide array of distributions out there - its hard for hackers to count on anything being a certain way in Linux. But it is true - hackers take advantage of more ubiquitous OSes.
Also - its not about “coding errors” - Linux strength/security comes from the overall approach to OS architecture - particularly when it comes to userspace - (although I think newer Windows has improved here somewhat)
I use Linux Mint on my main Desktop and Manjaro on 2 laptops and I can run about 75% out my old Windows programs in Playonlinux if I need them but I don’t ,some run a little funky but they run
As someone else pointed out, Linux runs the vast majority of internet servers. That is a big target.
The beauty of Linux -- open-source software -- is that as soon as a threat comes out, someone is on top of it, and it gets patched. In the proprietary world (like MS Windoze), it might take hours or days -- if not weeks -- to get a patch out.
I've got a bunch of computers with VirtualBox, and for years I would install various Linux distros just for the challenge and to keep up with what's going on out there. Frankly, there's not much of a challenge anymore with most Linux distros.
Those were the days -- get a six-pack on a Friday night and struggle to install some new Linux distro. But not anymore....
PCLOS, Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Debian -- they all install just as easy as Windoze, and you´re off an running. If you want a challenge, then go with Arch Linux. Conquer that one, especially on a VirtualBox installation, and you're a Linux pro, and you won't ever look back.
And then, if you're really into it, you can go totally hard-core and try "Linux From Scratch."
Linux installations aren't a challenge anymore. What I do for fun now is resuscitate old hardware. When you've got a 15-year-old laptop that barely runs Windows XP, but then comes alive with a Linux distro, it's very satisfying.
But those days are numbered too, as most Linux distros are abandoning 32-bit.
I'll close now, because this makes me realize that I'm getting old, and it is sad.
I have a Linux Mint box. It’s great. No reason to stay on the Microsoft plantation.
I’ve run a few Linux Desktops and they just seem so bare bones. Apple also, to a degree.
As far as Desktop Apps go, there is no comparison.
I will concede that the Window’s Registry, really, really sucks big time.
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