Micro$hite

[DieMonkeys]

I'm seriously considering the linux option...if wine will let me run my games that is...since that is 99% of my home computing.

Wine is not good for any games that aren't solitare or strategy games.

Cedega = good for fastpaced fps and the like.

*Hooray for Linux, fc5 dogs!*

[t_bonee]

Try SimplyMEPIS. It's a very nice, user friendly desktop distro that runs of cd. If you like and so desire, it can be easily installed to the HDD.

[MrShake]

I've used linux over a year now without a windows box in my home-office. In terms of distro's however, FC5 is not for beginners, any of the Fedora Core products are to bleeding-edge (and that is what they are for) to be solid reliable systems. Mepis, Linspire, Xandros, Ubuntu, those are user friendly, noobie type installs that just flat work!!

[jmillheiser]

best thing you can do for a windows machine if you dont wanna go with linux is to switch browers to something other than IE. I have used firefox for almost a year and have never had a spyware problem since installing it.

I put it on both mine and my wifes machines after my wife picked up a REALLY nasty trojan from a hacked script, the script was activeX of course and on a site on the trusted list, page was hacked and trojan inserted into one of the scripts. Spy Sweeper picked it up but could not get rid of it, was able to get rid of it by doing a rollback on the system.

firefox has a really good script blocker on it, I have only had 2 spyware programs get past the scrpit blocker and spy sweeper detected and blocked them before they could ever execute.

[DieMonkeys]

best thing you can do for a windows machine if you dont wanna go with linux is to switch browers to something other than IE. I have used firefox for almost a year and have never had a spyware problem since installing it.

I put it on both mine and my wifes machines after my wife picked up a REALLY nasty trojan from a hacked script, the script was activeX of course and on a site on the trusted list, page was hacked and trojan inserted into one of the scripts. Spy Sweeper picked it up but could not get rid of it, was able to get rid of it by doing a rollback on the system.

firefox has a really good script blocker on it, I have only had 2 spyware programs get past the scrpit blocker and spy sweeper detected and blocked them before they could ever execute.

Jmill, you need to get spybot seard & destroy, it's one of the best. Older versions of adaware are good too, but iirc the latest version has spyware in it.

Oh, and I use FC5 with no problems, just check out the community sections the first time you boot up and use firefox. They're really helpful.

[jmillheiser]

I had thought about snagging an older machine to set up as a linux box. How hard is it to setup a high end linux client like FC5 vs one of the newbie friendly clients. I can do pretty much anything to a windows machine (and I even know my way around DOS) inlcuding repartitioning the HDD.

Im reluctant to dump windows from my main machine because I have it set up to the point where it does everything I want and I have tweaked it to the point where it is very stable for a windows machine. Hence why I was thinking about picking up an older machine for cheap to play with.

[MrShake]

The "User Friendly" versions are no more or less "High-End" than FC5. The GREAT thing about linux is that you are able to make it what you want. Again, the problem with FC5 is that it is esentially a constant BETA for RHEL, so its packages, by design, are not as tested or stable as other distros. FC5 (or any fedora core) is not a good choice for a beginner to linux. If you think your good with a PC, try Ubuntu, its got enough "Out of the Box" functionality to make it fun, with over 12000 avaliable sofware packages to customise.

[roscowgo]

Fox is a good browser..... and i think more secure than IE, simply because its newer. Give it awhile and the little pains in the arse will write enough code to chop it off at the knees as soon as you visit something besides google.

<<heard good things about ubuntu. Will have to dual-boot my home machine with whichever distro i pick, since learning a new OS at work....eh not such a great idea.

Spybot is my friend. as is the AVG free client for quickie cleans. Housecall is also handy...though i have more faith in its older incarnations.

As a reference this is the first time in around 3 years that i've had trouble with malware on My machine. My users machines? The ones that think smiley central is a wonderful thing. And that kazaa is perfectly safe.... no. Everytime i spend a few hours trying to restore basic functionality to one of my users, i promise them that i will beat them with an angry fireant colony if they download Anything else that is remotely, vaugely, or even hinted at being cute. Cute and funny is the enemy. you want cute and funny? Find a 3 legged puppy.


Though in their defense... They just Don't KNOW. Lord it is frustrating though. ActiveX, java, .... the devil. the pure unadulterated Devil.

[Nibblet99]

Internet Explorer, Spybot, and Spyware Blaster (recommended by spybot)

Never get any problems, no matter how dodgy the website I visit

I guess you may find differently to me, but the immunize feature in spybot, and spyware blaster just seems to stop any problems before they start

[jmillheiser]

Firefox plus spy sweeper has kept my machine spyware free since installing them. Spy Sweeper gets updated definitions almost daily