We're not in Ubuntu Anymore: The Linux Distros You've (Probably) Never Heard About Before

TechSpot ^ | 26 October 2021 | Sami Haj-Assaad

[Glad2bnuts]

How do you migrate my desktop icons of subjects that interest me etc? Must I clone my Windows 7 and slave it?

[Paal Gulli]

There are on the order of 600 flavors of Linux, some 400 of which are actively maintained.

I doubt Torvalds himself knows the names of all of them.

[daniel1212]

"Doesn’t have anything to do with your driving abilities or choice of roads at all my friend. It is an open backdoor for unseen others and defeats the whole concept of why Linux is more secure. It is even less secure than Windows if in perpetual root. Who knows what kind of stuff you are spreading to others"

Certainly no one knows for sure what you yourself may be spreading, and if one does send a malicious link, it is likely that it directs one to a Linux server since most servers run Linux. Yet Windows is more vulnerable to infections mainly due to it being the most popular aside from mobile devices and servers. But as for me, your insinuation is baseless if not paranoia. No one has ever sent notice of any infection coming from me, and in 20 years of extensive Internet use by me alone I have only had 2 viruses (easily removed), one being W/98 and the other about years ago, and scans since always come back clean, by the grace of God, and I do not send executable files and only rarely a PDF I made myself. And I can keep tabs on what is running and set to run, and must sanction installations and have software that alerts me new attempts to run such things as Google updates and run once entries.

No, this does not mean some trojan, malware, spyware etc. can get past such unnoticed, but neither does it mean I am likely spreading stuff to others and that warrants using Linux with its restrictions (for me).

And while Linux malware etc. is less common and the system less vulnerable, yet, Don't believe these four myths about Linux security - Sophos ...

The main reason for infections etc. occurring is not because of a lack of Linux "vaccination" but how one uses hardware. (And you even have Kali Linux being used to bypass Anti-Virus safety.) According to TitanHQ analysts Top Blocked categories are :

1. Spyware and Malicious Sites >>> 60,000+ a day blocked!
2. Pornography/Sex
3. Nudity
4. Online Ads
5. Phishing/Fraud
6. Gambling
7. Illegal Drugs
8. Web-based Email
9. Social Media
10. Videos
 
These domains among others are to blame for at least 95 percent of the websites that pose a potential threat to visitors. - https://www.titanhq.com/safe-browsing-are-your-users-internet-habits-harming-your-corporation/

I use none of the above except for a rare use of 9, as in Twitter and FB (ugh!) and sometimes some worthy videos on Tubi.tv (see some of my recommended ones here) and YouTube.

And as explained, I would like to use Linux but for me it means a loss of functionality unless perhaps I take the time to learn a lot. I presently do not see the warrant for it.

[ShadowAce]

I believe that would be a manual process. I have not actually had a Windows desktop for over 20 years, so I’m not sure of that process.

[Openurmind]

I’m just saying that the biggest security threat with any OS is running default as an admin account. Same for Windows, same for Linux.

The wisest security prevention a Windows user can do is sign in with a guest account rather than the default admin account with admin privileges.

But most are not customizing as much as you do... :)

[Openurmind]

Ace is right, probably need to do it manually. There should be a “bookmarks” or “favorites” folder inside all browser app folders. Just replace the new install empty folder with a copy of the full folder from the older first browser. Then go into that after moving and right click the ones you want handy on your desktop and send to your desktop.

[daniel1212]

"I’m just saying that the biggest security threat with any OS is running default as an admin account. Same for Windows, same for Linux. The wisest security prevention a Windows user can do is sign in with a guest account rather than the default admin account with admin privileges."

Actually

Starting with Windows Vista, the built-in Windows Administrator account is disabled by default. In Windows XP and prior versions, every installation of Windows had a special account called Administrator enabled by default. This account has the highest permissions of any profile on the computer, and thus can do anything with elevated administrator privileges without requiring confirmation. It's akin to the "root" or "superuser" accounts in other operating systems. The Administrator account posed a security problem in past Windows versions. By default, the password for it was blank. This meant that unless you set a password for the account, anyone with a bit of know-how could log into the Administrator account and gain full access to the system.

In Windows Vista and beyond, every normal user account has to deal with User Account Control (UAC). UAC shows a window with a security prompt whenever you want to perform an action that requires elevated privileges. Such actions include installing a program for all users, editing the Registry, opening a Command Prompt as an admin, and similar. When prompted by UAC, standard user accounts must enter the credentials for an admin account (username and password) to proceed. This account is separate from administrator-level user accounts... [which] only have to click a confirmation button to continue. - https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-administrator-account-everything-need-know/

The latter is what I must do to install programs for instance, while I also have to manually choose to run a program as Administrator. Windows is actually attempting to escalate privileges thru UAC prompts, and you are asked to confirm whether you want to allow the program requesting it to run under those privileges. And under the standard user account you must type in an admin username and password to confirm the UAC prompt.

And while there is also the Windows 10 Administrator account (vs. standard as well as administrator-level user accounts) which bypasses all UAC protections, this is disabled by default and one must manually enable it before you can start using Administrator in modern versions of Windows. Hardly any Windows users likely know of or use this.

"But most are not customizing as much as you do... :)"

Yup. Thank God we can in the interest of speed (thus AutoHotKey), efficiency (thus 7 browsers with custom titles for different general purposes) and functionality (thus extensions). But if for instance I wanted to migrate or edit program files in LibreOffice/4/user/config or FirefoxProfiles/Profiles (which I can do in Windows without it asking permission, but which I could add if needed) then what would I need to do in Mint for each file? And can I right click on any application executable and find its location, and also make a shortcut for it, and also place it in a "Send to"/"Open with" type menu like to open documents with my choices?

Thanks and I will take my answer off the air:)

[Openurmind]

And thank you for straightening me out on that. I stand corrected. :)

[daniel1212]

" And thank you for straightening me out on that. I stand corrected. :) "

You mean MS lacks clarity?! I am suspicious where this Secure Computing can lead to. See end of post 34, though likely unwarranted alarm.

[Kevmo]

I resolved most of my issues by purchasing a new computer for $100 from my room mate. He bought some black-friday google chrome for $150, didn’t like it and tried to sell it to another roommie for $100, who wasn’t interested. So now I have 2 computers. I can surf the net on the chromebox and do other stuff on the useless 4-processor HP box.

[Openurmind]

“and do other stuff on the useless 4-processor HP box.”

Now a Linux box??? :)

[Kevmo]

When I only had 1 computer, I couldn’t risk it turning into a brick. Now I can. But this is a low priority project.

[Openurmind]

Trust me... You won’t brick it. Just have to make sure your BIOS is set so that it will boot from a USB external OS. Have to make the image on a stick to test even that function first. Once you do have it booting from an external OS the Linux will cure all. EVERYONE needs the very reliable external Linux stick to save their files off from a crashed MS drive. It just works... As long as the drive it not broken it always works my friend...