Turn Your Computer into a Fortress

I often hear of users having sorry experiences with Windows. Slow-downs, malware, bloatware, viruses, anti-viruses, and lots of money and time down the drain seem to be the order of the day. It does not have to be this way. There is a better solution. I would estimate that at least half of all computer users today are using their computer for one task that does not demand much of the operating system at all--internet surfing. Yes, occasionally, the typical user might also wish to edit a spreadsheet, write a document, or play multimedia files. Linux can do all of these things quite well. Linux does not require much in the way of hardware, either. A computer built in 2008 will serve admirably. Only two gigs of RAM, you say? That is not a problem. Why not buy a used computer for $100 or less? Linux runs Firefox or Chrome like a champ, and all the add-ons that are used on Firefox in Windows can also be used on Firefox in Linux. One caveat--there may or may not be an issue where Flash is concerned. One's experience with youtube may vary depending on the computer hardware. However, Chrome has no difficulty at all running Flash in Linux, because Chrome's flash decoder is native rather than suffering from a dependency upon Adobe.

If I were designing a laptop or desktop for the casual Internet user, I would install the latest version of 64-bit Linux Mint KDE with Firefox as the internet browser and the NoScript add-on for security. Some people hate NoScript, because it is annoying by design, disabling all scripts until the user manually approves a site. Thus, clicking on a link no longer can result automatically in infection, because the user must first approve the scripts that are to run. However, the first time one visits Ebay, Amazon, et al, one must approve of the scripts being run before using the sites as one is accustomed.

A fortress against malware is presented by Linux Mint KDE with the firewall enabled to deny incoming connections, Firefox as the browser, and the NoScript Add-on installed. This set-up is also fast to boot, easy to install, and free. There are further refinements that can be made, given experience and the knowledge that comes with it, but the basic setup is easy to understand.