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.
“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.”
It’s just that I am “getting old” when it comes to computers at home (former IT director and consultant that I am) and not wanting to have to get over a learning curve to do something I am already doing quite well with, just to be using something “better”, when, as I know very well, “better” often applies to the smallest % of users, as most users seldom exploit most of what their applications are capable of. I am no longer looking for the “perfect” environment or applications as much as what just does the job and as good ease of use. Getting that is hard when you are fairly satisfied with what you got.
Why did I even enter this topic?
For the first time ever I lost use of one of my computers (running windows 7 home premium). It took 2 1/2 hours to get it back to the status it had two weeks ago (and there really had been no changes since then). The first notice was when it said it could not totally rebuild the “desktop” and delivered a skimpy “desktop” lacking most of what I always had in it. I then tried to use Firefox (to “google” some help) and was told my Firefox could not be found after which my firefox icons were immediately removed (one on the “desktop” and one in the task tray). Decided next to restart windows and at the point of signing on was told the user profiles could not be found.
I then went through various stages of hardware diagnostics (EVERYTHING passed its tests - bios, memory, harddrive, ect - via the diagnostics available via alternate startup and hardware diagnostic tool kit on CD), then getting into “safe mode”, “recovery” and a “restore point” before I had my system back. The system logs had nothing of any danger event on the last previous day of use. Even shut down went fine. Nothing in the logs was wrong until my failures at startup yesterday.
In addition, on another PC I am holding windows 10 updates at bay by setting it’s wifi connection in the house to “metered”, which forces windows to ask if its ok to run an update. I do that because the last win 10 update I allowed knocked out some of my older applications and all the tricks for allowing the work no longer worked either.
Then again, am I ready for a whole new computing environment? I just don’t know.
Thanks.
And DNS servers are something hacked would love to hijack.