Computer Viruses vs. Using Linux

With the understanding that the general reader is not a tech savvy user, I will try to keep this as basic as possible.

I've been using Linux as my Operating System (OS) for a little over a year now. I still like Windows XP as an OS, but feel it is WAY overpriced, and does have many security flaws in its initial install. However with SP3 and a good Anti-Virus and 3rd Party Firewall, like Zone-Alarm (FREE), you can keep you XP system pretty clean.

However with NO Anti-Virus and NO Firewall, you will have a clean system with Linux. I download files from Limewire and Torrent sites all the time and never have to scan for viruses, if there is a virus it won't know how to execute in Linux.

Let's face it, most users will only use their $500 computer for internet and the occasional Office document. What you are paying for here is Microsoft's greed. because Windows XP Pro is $150 and a basic version of Microsoft Office will run around $200.

Now consider this, for about $250, you can get into a NEW computer (monitor not included), and load Ubuntu Linux and OpenOffice.org 3.0. Linux is FREE and so is OpenOffice.org. Both are very stable and have lots of support. For most users going from Windows to Linux as a biginner, I would recommend Ubuntu. It is very easy to install and fairly simple to manouver your way around. It will take a few days to get used to, but as far is internet use, well, Firefox is loaded by default and the internet is the same no matter what OS you use.

OpenOffice.org is a free Office suite that is made by SunMicrosystems. This company has been around forever. So you don't have to worry about them going under and being left with no updates or support. OpenOffice.org 3.0 is compatible with MS Office 2007. You can open, edit, save Microsoft documents. Your friends or coworkers can also open documents you create with OpenOffice.org, even if you don't save it as .doc. Another feature I really like is that it allows you to convert your document to PDF to be opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is nice.

Now the cons about Linux. Your Windows based programs will not work in Linux. Not by default. There is a program you can install to allow Linux to run in a Windows environment with those programs. That's about the most non-technical way I can explain it. Do a google search for Linux WINE if you want to read more technically inclined documentation.

That's about it. The choice is obviously yours in the end. I perfer Linux for most things, but Windows for my Music recording and games. Although Linux has some pretty cool games. They don't have Madden or NASCAR yet.

Please feel free to comment and thanks for reading.