I'm no computer expert, I'm a mechanic. Linux has proved itself to be a great option to me for close to 10 years. Knoppix was the first version of linux I tried. Just a "live" cd that you could boot from and experiment with. What an amazing thing, an operating system running from a cd!! I tried to install it with some minor success. Then I used Mepis for a number of years until the maintainer had to get a real job.
In recent times I've used Mint (based on Ubuntu). Is it totally 100% secure? I doubt it. The bash vulnerability was a surprise to many but it was quickly patched. (When I checked my computer was not vulnerable to that bug. I don't really know if it was only attacking old versions of bash or ??) Computer operating systems have so many lines of code that nobody has 100% confidence. Is it more secure than windows? I'm absolutely sure of it. Bad guys want to maximize their efforts so they go for the big numbers of windows users. There have been a few reports of linux viruses but mostly in the computer lab. In the wild it's not a worry. I tried to install and use a virus program for the first few years of linux use, then I gave up, there was no problem to be found.
Yes, you can use a browser you're familiar with like Firefox or Chrome. You can sync your bookmarks over from the windows versions with xmarks or sync or others that I don't know about. Adblock works great in linux! Dual boot with windows is easily done by most of the installers.
A "live" linux cd or flash drive will allow you to access your data without starting windows or making a permanent change to your computer. You can recover data and save it to an external drive or the internet even if windows has croaked.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2147...ntu-can-help-a-computer-in-distress.htmlThe most amazing thing to me was how most versions of linux that I have tried can configure hardware on the fly. Only the most obscure printers and scanners require extra work to make them functional. Old stuff seems to work perfectly. Brand new may be more of a problem. I recently pulled the hard drive from my spare computer and put it in a computer with totally different hardware. It started and worked perfectly with all my bookmarks and data intact. Not gonna do that in windows.
It's fast and it's FREE! If you have an old computer or one that's giving you trouble please download and "burn" a live cd or flash drive of linux to try. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain!
