[LINK] Question: How do you protect Windows?

[Howard Lowndes]

On Mon, 2004-12-13 at 10:38, Webb, KerryA wrote:
> RC wrote:
> > 
> > Craig,
> > 
> > All of the below advice is misdirected; not because it's 
> > wrong, but because looking from the outside at "me", there 
> > are only two options I can see.
> > 
> > Either:
> > a) I am not capable of an informed decision, in which case 
> > I'm also probably incapable of installing a *nix, learning 
> > how to install and run compatibility software, and so on;
> > or
> > b) I am capable of an informed decision, in which case I'm 
> > running Windows on purpose, believing my security measures 
> > adequate to the task.
> > 
> > My evidence for (b) is, as I said, a lack of attacks, and a 
> > long virus-free existence. There's no discoverable spyware 
> > (thank you Mozilla), my wife and I never fall for the 
> > attachment IQ test, and my kids only have plain-text e-mail 
> > (and No Instant Messenger).
> > 
> > There are other reasons, most particularly reliability, which 
> > would convince me, but it can wait until I can afford the 
> > time to plan the change, and make it reverseable if need be.
> > 
> 
> I agree.  At home I run Windows 98SE and am suffering more than one crash per week.  I want a more reliable platform but am unwilling (for a number of reasons) to upgrade to XP.
> 
> I've been looking at Linux options and am confused, bewildered and generally not confident that I can
> 
> (a) install such a system myself, and

I have to say that, even though I might be above average knowledgable on
Linux, I don't think I could find anything easier to install than the
Desktop version of Fedora Core 3.  Sure it takes the pickings from 4
CDs, which you can download as iso images and burn if you need to (in my
case I keep them on a server on my network as iso images and then do an
NFS install when I am building another Linux box), but it does take a
lot less time the installing Windows _and_ you get all the apps
installed _and_ only 1 reboot - right at the end.

> (b) keep it up to date easily.

So, what is hard about a cron job running "up2date -u" on a daily or
weekly basis?

> 
> I'm not a computer expert, but I think I know enough to know what I don't know.

If you went the XP path there would probably be more learning needed
than with the FC3 path.

> 
> A Macintosh is looking pretty good at the moment.

Yes, and remember that that has a Unix core - FreeBSD.

> 
> Kerry 
>   
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-- 
Howard.
LANNet Computing Associates;
Your Linux people <http://www.lannetlinux.com>
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