Internet Explorer 8

[GOODDOG]

 hi tomkin.

i have a fairly good  grasp of computers but i am definitely not  up to the standard of you people. i have no intentions of switching from my ie.

  it was reading you gentlemen saying about  ubuntu etc. which made me want to know what these systems were. two i am curious of . one is cclean, what is it.
  another is something nick mensioned was  some kind of spywear, it began with an a. nick said it only cost a few pounds. i pay just under £40.

by asking these questions i am learning from your replies. i think this is a wonderful site and enjoy reading the replies to different questions in all topics.

to all who have taken the time to reply to my questions  thank you very much.

thank you tomkin for mensioning the the local centers. i did that when i retired and enjoyed getting my diplomas.

[tomkin]

 Hi gooddog,

   Click on this link:-http://www.computeractive.co.uk/

   Type the word into the search facility and press go.

  You will then have more information than you will ever

   need. just click on the articles.

   Also look on the menu bar such as downloads. You will find more

   programmes than you will ever need etc.  Personally I always go

   for the "Freebies"

    Please always take great care with computer stuff. They can seriously

    damaged your pocket and your mental health.

    Tomkin.

[tomkin]

 The link didn't seem to work, let's try again.

  see what I mean about damaging your mental health.

   Tomkin
 
            http://www.computeractive.co.uk/

[tomkin]

 P.S.

    Also make good use of the Jargon Buster on the right.

  Just click on a letter for a list of all the computer jargon

   beginning with that letter and an explanation.

    Tomkin

   All this for free.  Can't be bad.....

[Redroger]

I have had little formal training using computers, and I expect it shows: As others have said, the big attraction about using a Linux system is that it's free, and that as the user base is smaller it attracts much less spam, viruses and other trash. But it does take a lot of learning. If you wanted to go for it from scratch, then the way might be to buy a net book computer running a Linux system and use it in tandem with the Windows system which came preinstalled on your present computer, then when you are comfortable with both system make a decision and switch to the one that suits you best.

[RJ_Paton]

it was reading you gentlemen saying about  ubuntu etc. which made me want to know what these systems were. two i am curious of . one is cclean, what is it.

Adaware from Lavasoft is a free utility for clearing away some minor spyware utilities and tracking cookies

http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

CCleaner - is a utility for clearing away unwanted debris from your system and can help get rid of some malware

http://www.ccleaner.com/download

Another is Spybot S & D (search & destroy) all three are free to download and use and are useful tools in any armoury to protect your system - that said, misuse of them, like many programs, can screw up your system.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

As regards security software there are many alternatives from free (AVG and Avast are 2 of the most popular Anti Virus programs) to the commercial alternatives. The commercial offerings generally combine several functions (Anti Virus and firewall) and it often pays to shop around to get the best deal on the same piece of software.

[Nick29]

I have had little formal training using computers, and I expect it shows: As others have said, the big attraction about using a Linux system is that it's free, and that as the user base is smaller it attracts much less spam, viruses and other trash.

You keep saying that, and whilst it may have been true 5 years ago, it certainly isn't now.  In fact there are several virus checkers available for Linux.  Linux is widely installed on web servers - this forum is run on a Linux-based server.

[downside]

The whole point about using Linux is that it cannot be infected.  You do not need anti-virus software or anti-spyware or any of the other stuff used by Windows to try and make it secure.

The main reason why Windows is so vulnerable is because users log on using a login with Admin privileges which allows malware to be downloaded and installed.  Most of this malware is written for a Windows OS, so if it is downloaded to Linux then it can't actually run on there.  Linux does have a free firewall called Shorewall available but it is such a secure system that it really doesn't need to have a firewall.

They important thing is not to connect to the Internet using an account that has Admin (or root) privileges.  That automatically protects you from malware being launched and thus infecting your system.

[Nick29]

The whole point about using Linux is that it cannot be infected.  You do not need anti-virus software or anti-spyware or any of the other stuff used by Windows to try and make it secure.

I really think that you ought to read up about the Linux Lupper Worm, the Linux Lion Worm, the Virus.Linux.Diesel.962 virus, the Virus.Linux.Vit.4096 virus, the Ramen virus and the Winux virus !     Although the last one has never been seen in the wild, it is proof that it's possible to write code that will infect both Windows and Linux systems.

They important thing is not to connect to the Internet using an account that has Admin (or root) privileges.  That automatically protects you from malware being launched and thus infecting your system.

Are you saying that if I sent you an email with a virus-infected or hostile attachment, that you would not be able to open it if you don't have Admin priviledges ?