Shopsmith Forums

garys wrote:I had a friend who had an XP machine fry the motherboard. I wasn't able to get an exact replacement motherboard, so I bought a different one. XP in Microsoft's twisted logic would no longer run because the stupid software thought it was loaded on a different computer. I called Microsoft and got someone in a foreign country who spoke such broken English that she was almost intelligible. She was unable to give me the necessary codes to make it work again. That is a total failure of Microsoft support when you spend your money for their operating system, and they can't make it work.
I fixed that machine by dumping XP and loading Fedora Linux on it. After that, it ran trouble free for years with no patching.

As far as updates. None of them would have been necessary if Microsoft hadn't written such an inscure system the first time around. And, when Microsoft wasn't able to fix their security holes within a year, some of the independent security firms stepped up and wrote security patches within days instead of years like Microsoft.

People need to wise up and ask themselves why these massive security problems and endless patches happen only to Microsoft. Every other software company seems to get it so close to right the first time that patches are a rare occurance, and even when they patch, they are almost never critical like Microsoft.

Gary, the reason XP had so many issues with security, was because of its exposure. With Linux covering 1 or 2 percent of the home computers, and Apple stuff having 10%, leaving Microsoft to cover the rest, who is going to get the most attacks?

If I was a criminal lock breaker, I'd rather make a pick that worked on 80% of the locks, instead of 5 or 10%.

steve

Also, most attacks these days rely on the naiveté or lack of knowledge on the part of the user.

Web page pop-ups saying "You have a virus! Click here to remove it!", spoof email that look to be from your friends and have a "funny video" attached that is really a virus.

Spoof email from services like PayPal or UPS or Amazon saying your payment has been processed or your package is scheduled for delivery or your order has been placed with a link in the email to follow for "more information" which is really taking you to a site that infects your computer.

My wife got a call from a scammer a couple months ago. A guy with a thick Indian accent saying our computer had a virus and he needed to remove it over the phone. She knew better and tried to tell him that at first, but he was very forceful and even threatened legal action if she didn't follow his instructions. So she drug him along for a long time acting like she was having a hard time following his directions. The guy held for about 30 minutes just waiting while she pretended to be getting the password to log on from me. She figured the longer she kept him on the phone, the less time he would have to scam somebody who didn't know any better. After about an hour she had to go and finally told him our computer ran Linux instead of Windows and he let out a frustrated yell and hung up.

Attacks these days, for the most part are about tricking the user to install malicious software.

heathicus wrote:Also, most attacks these days rely on the naiveté or lack of knowledge on the part of the user.

Web page pop-ups saying "You have a virus! Click here to remove it!", spoof email that look to be from your friends and have a "funny video" attached that is really a virus.

Spoof email from services like PayPal or UPS or Amazon saying your payment has been processed or your package is scheduled for delivery or your order has been placed with a link in the email to follow for "more information" which is really taking you to a site that infects your computer.

My wife got a call from a scammer a couple months ago. A guy with a thick Indian accent saying our computer had a virus and he needed to remove it over the phone. She knew better and tried to tell him that at first, but he was very forceful and even threatened legal action if she didn't follow his instructions. So she drug him along for a long time acting like she was having a hard time following his directions. The guy held for about 30 minutes just waiting while she pretended to be getting the password to log on from me. She figured the longer she kept him on the phone, the less time he would have to scam somebody who didn't know any better. After about an hour she had to go and finally told him our computer ran Linux instead of Windows and he let out a frustrated yell and hung up.

Attacks these days, for the most part are about tricking the user to install malicious software.

You have a smart lady home schooling yer offspring!

My wife just tells them to GTH!!!:D About once a week!

What flavor of Linux would be good for someone new to the operating system?

terryd wrote:What flavor of Linux would be good for someone new to the operating system?

Also I'd like to know what the requirements are. Hard disk size, amount of RAM etc.

beeg wrote:Also I'd like to know what the requirements are. Hard disk size, amount of RAM etc.

Go buy Linux for Dummies. Ubuntu comes with it on a disc.

skou wrote:Gary, the reason XP had so many issues with security, was because of its exposure.

Much more important than that is Windows is inherently flawed. It has a Registry that is the core of all the security issues. The Windows Registry is the depository for everything that runs on the computer, and that same Registry is a magnet for viruses and spyware.

Linux and Unix don't use a registry. They are built more like DOS which didn't virally attach the software to the operating system.

I'd love to recommend Ubuntu, but I really hate the new default interface. I'd say to check out Kubuntu or Linux Mint. Both are based on Ubuntu but have a more Windows like interface. Necessary system specs are pretty moderate for Linux. Just about any Linux distribution you want to check out can come be downloaded as an iso file, the image burned to a CD/DVD, and you can then boot from that disc and run Linux "live" without making any changes to your computer. It's a good way to give it a try without committing.

Here's a few choices.

Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com

Kubuntu: http://www.kubuntu.org

Linux Mint: http://linuxmint.com

Zorn OS: http://zorin-os.com

At the price...(FREE)...You can try several...

Great thread. I have been in IT for over 30 years starting out in CP/M in the 80's and working up? from there. Bill Gates really built a model that was designed to make him money, in my opinion. When he obsoleted Windows 2000 as an example, a great NT platform that was very stable, and forced XP on the market, which was just a prettier interface to 2000 he forced everyone to "upgrade" by dropping "support" (.net changes no longer being available etc), to have to buy something else yet again, from Microsoft. His whole model of business has been planned obsolescence since DOS. Now, with that said, there is a natural progression of improvement that is going to happen, these machines have become so incredible, our desktops can compete with the billion dollar Cray of just a decade or so ago in computing power. The bugaboo (technical term ) is that the obsolescence wasn't necessary, the "improvements" could have been seamless and secure. It is all about resale and the bottom line. The other problem, and one that I had to deal with, was function in the real world. We had to develop software for the organizations we supported and the only way to do that, was to use the Microsoft platforms. That is still true today. I hope Linux eventually takes over. It is a far better OS, but less forgiving and harder to understand with it's cryptic approach of user interface. I think that will continue to change over time. I hope so!

Anyway, JMHO