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“I have thought about trying Mint Cinnamon, because it’s said to resemble Windows, hence a low learning curve.”

After trying out about a dozen that is the distro I settled on using myself and absolutely recommend for a first time user. Everything operates and feels like Win 7. All the right click menu options, file manager, Etc. are the same with some extra features to do more. The only thing I did do was use the default cinnamon apps to change the them/skin, icons, and highlight colors to what I like. I hate green... lol

But as for viruses, There are several factors at play. One is indeed that fewer viruses are written for it. But by design this really is not a big factor, even if they did target it more the design would still prevent it. Here are a few reasons why...

1, Linux comes with the firewall turned off. You can turn it on if you like, but it doesn’t really need it. Linux comes with no insecure open ports so there is really no need unless it would be for one of your apps that require an open port. And the system files cannot be rooted without you personally and physically doing it yourself with a passkey. They are by default not connected to your user files or apps. Nothing in your stuff can affect the OS unless you root it and let it.

2. Linux is open source so it is peer reviewed in real time extensively. Any time a threat surfaces anywhere in the world Linux peers jump on it with a fever and provide a patch within hours.

3. Over the years all the viruses designed to attack Linux except for only a couple required hands on physical access to your machine to implant it. So you are very very safe if no one who might do that has physical access to your machine and the passkey to root the system files.

4. Because it is open source, you can dig into and customize every nook and cranny personally and debug. There is nothing proprietary hidden in the system or in the updates like MS. And again it is constantly peer reviewed for bugs and discrepancies so the sources are safe.

5. Mint comes with a one click install/uninstall software manager app that accesses a common software repository for both Ubuntu and Mint and others that is stocked with just about every app you might ever need. And if it is in the repository it is safe to download and install. The open source app software is all peer reviewed also. Sometimes you might run across an app that doesn’t work, but that is because it was not maintained or abandoned by the independent app developer, it is still safe and won’t hurt anything, just broken. But I have ran across only a few of these, they are not common.

6. It is built simple. It is not a mess of conflicts and patches for conflicts like MS. So by nature it is safer and more straight forward and simpler. And because of this it is extremely light and fast with no bloatware like MS has. 2 gigs compared to 18 gigs for windows 10.

Now let me share something important. I would install dual boot with the Mint over Windows. I have done this many many times without fail using the Mint installer option “install alongside”. It will make Linux your primary OS that it automatically boots into. But at power up it will also give you a boot list option to boot into either as you like. And if you would rather have it boot into windows as your primary and Linux as secondary there is a simple one string code edit in one of the system files that is actually easy to do with the included editor. But with dual boot, when you are booted in Linux it will let you access and drag and drop all your MS files from the MS volume drive to your like kind Linux folders. Documents, Pictures, Videos, Downloads, Music Etc. The folder and file options are all the same as Win 7.

Now as a side note because you have a still working win 7. I liked win 7 and would hate to see you lose that by accident because I know how hard it is to get win 7 back. Like I say the Mint installer has been absolutely flawless for me on over 50 installs for myself and others it still might be an option to load Linux on an older not quite as important to you machine first as a test machine. But once you make the required Linux “live/install” USB stick you can use the Linux from the stick without affecting anything internally on the MS drive. It will let you explore and play with the boxed apps it comes with and get on the net from the stick alone.

Unless you are all in to wipe Win 7 and install just Linux as your new OS. If you do this then of course you will want to pull all your files off to external media before installing it. Because it will wipe it all away as part of the “full” Linux install rat5her than installing as dual boot. When booted in Linux after it is installed it will indeed let you transfer those off the stick into the Linux folders. Even MS word files and Adobe Acrobat files.