No more viruses, malware, rootkits, worms, trojans

[problemchild]

Well 1 year ago I installed Linux on all my laptops. So far so good. It was a bit of a learning curve especially when something went wrong. But I really enjoy NOT getting infected. I do miss some windows features and software but its not that big of a deal.

If you want to try Linux you can download any "LIVE" iso (cd image) and burn it to a dvd and boot to it without changing your current system or hard drive.

[nothinghere2c]

i havent had a virus or malware on my windows desktops for 10 years.

stay away from shady sites, run a good anti virus suite and dont click on popups.

if i need to visit a questionable site or test apps i do it in a virtual machine and rollback to my previous image when done.

linux is great for servers, its just too clunky for my primary desktop. and its not a good gaming OS cause MS still has a stranglehold.

[nick]

Rootkits do come from the UNIX/Linux world. There's quite a few viruses in that world, as well. No OS is bulletproof.

[the86d]

Rootkits do come from the UNIX/Linux world. There's quite a few viruses in that world, as well. No OS is bulletproof.

Yes, but you are WAY less susceptible than Windows, or Macs, as you can get down and dirty to see every process, unlike Windows that most people can't see all services easily (I don't know if you can do a "ps -ef" on a Mac and see everything).

I have heard that most Mac infections are not even known to the user, usually if they don't run an AV.

Hardware firewall when able, and don't run services and install applications you don't need...

Most major Linux distros these days have an application to install kosher applications from, and I think it is the same on a Mac, but Windows is doing the same thing these days too, right?
They are all getting better, but the majority of Linux distros and Windows versions do too much that is unneeded, and require higher-end hardware such as beefier video cards than they should by default for my tastes, but if you try a few you can find some leaner distro such as Elementary Luna, or even leaner that works well...

I got pissed off at all the issues I was having with Windows 7 x86 (32 bit) and ran Pear Linux for 6 months at my desk at work (supporting 1600[?] windows users), but the x64 version of Win7 is much better now that I gave it a shot when Pear Linux got bought-out. I put Pear on my lady's mom's notebook, as she never listened, and kept installing crap from the Internet she found or friends told her to install, and she hasn't mentioned the machine other than it works well for Internet browsing (her only real use for the Internet).

Moving to a free state AND switching to Linux?
Moving-on-up...

[Baeleron]

I've used linux for 15 years at work, and would switch to it at home in a flash. However I enjoy games when I'm in the mood, so I'm stuck with win7. But if you do what the previous poster said and don't be stupid online, you won't get a lot of viruses. And if you do get one (I've had 1 in about 10 years, and I knew I was taking a risk when I got it), reinstalling the OS isn't hard and keeps you organized. I think people who feel they have no risk get soft and will eventually be victims.