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Switching from Windows XP to Ubuntu

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    #32
    PropJoe10
    Registered Users Posts: 5,254 ✭✭✭PropJoe10


    tomdempsey200 wrote: »
    won't Windows xp still be safe

    if you have latest antivirus,malware and firewall?

    no?

    No. Keeping your applications up to date is important, but they will only protect you to a certain extent, if the actual operating system is vulnerable, which Windows XP will be in a month or so. I would honestly not advise people to continue using Windows XP for more than another month or so. I dont wish to scare you, but I would not be doing any internet banking or anything like that on Windows XP anymore.


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    #33
    PrzemoF
    Registered Users Posts: 1,931 ✭✭✭PrzemoF


    yeppydeppy wrote: »
    I went to the adobe site and downloaded there - the instructions were unpack, open terminal, run as root and so on - I couldn't be bothered.
    Google it, download it and install it - that's what most non tech users want - they don't want to have to read a readme file or follow instructions.

    1. We're talking about a dying proprietary technology that is not properly supported by it's producer.
    2. Yes, it's point & click: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats/Flash

    You should switch from windows approach "I have to get it somewhere from the net" to linux approach "check the main software repository first - someone probably had the same problem as me and already solved it"


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    #34
    riclad
    Registered Users Posts: 8,184 ✭✭✭riclad


    I Downloaded mint 16 the latest version,it comes with vlc player,video ,music player,
    firefox browser.
    The only thing i needed to install ,from menu, software manager, is chromium browser,
    linux version of chrome.

    THIS takes about 5 clicks, after put in user password to give permission to install program.
    NO NEED to go to terminal ,or use sudo apt get command.
    MOST software is avaidable on the software manager,
    without going near terminal mode.
    Hackers will be able to get acess to pcs, user info,
    credit card info etc bank account info.IF YOU USE WINXP PC , for online banking,
    or login just to check bank balance.
    OR to buy anything online.

    A Good antivirus and firewall, is needed but it wont stop malware or hackers ,
    from taking over an old os thats not updated or has many vunerabilitys.


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    #35
    Ctrl Alt Del
    Registered Users Posts: 357 ✭✭Ctrl Alt Del


    Hi,

    Reading trough the posts here...and ..wondering how many times i had to call Microsoft for Support or Updates on Windows XP !! (which we all know that somehow it is compromised by NSA) and easy to hack by the hacking community)but, hey ,is working fine and we know it...

    Today,im going to review all my personal items that are of support / warranty with my supplier and can affect my life style :

    -My TV is out of warranty , 3 years old.I'm calling Panasonic to see if is safe to use it due to "new" 220V power lines,new TV channels and the risk of getting hand sick from using remote control too often rather than touch screen or voice controls;

    -My car is way out of support with supplier...I'll advise my wife to get a loan and buy a new one,latest edition as that will give her peace of mind when driving along the arses on M50 and ..make the bankers so fcukign happy when payment with interest done every month !

    -my phone is getting older and supplier(s) the software and the shop are pushing me to upgrade to latest edition but...my phone works fine,why do i have to change it !?? Is a smart phone ,i can read news,emails and send/receive txt and im happy that i can make calls...to another people with maybe older phones !

    -also,my PC is getting older and i've been advised to upgrade to latest unknown never used before OS but... online free of charge / take it as it is support for is coming as one way to get from start to finish but done in thousands of ways !!!

    That's my today's view of this whole thing ,pushed by someone that has a well defined hidden agenda.
    Suppliers have to listen to market,consumers,those that are paying for they products and/or services !
    As well,people cant stop the progress,we have to move forward,from Win95 to Win8.X
    So,where is the compromise,on which side on what product !?

    Regards


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    #36
    GarIT
    Registered Users Posts: 8,671 ✭✭✭GarIT


    I have said this in other threads and repeat it here. If you wish to continue to use XP go ahead but when using it to be safe assume that as soon as you connect to the internet (and I don't mean open websites, I mean connect your computer to your router) your screen is being watched and that all your files are being copied. It's not likely to happen but it can, it just depends on if you get targeted or not, you won't know if it is happening and there is no security in existence that can make XP secure.

    Also don't listen to that grand until next month sh!te, every month microsoft releases security updates for windows, if I released a vulnerability in XP last month microsoft would have fixed it in yesterdays update but that was the last update. If a security hole is found in XP today there will never be an update to fix it.


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    #37
    GarIT
    Registered Users Posts: 8,671 ✭✭✭GarIT


    riclad wrote: »
    chromium browser,
    linux version of chrome.

    The Chromium browser is not a linux version of chrome. Chromium works on most operating systems, and is the browser that Chrome is based on, Chrome is Chromium but modified by google to add features and add tracking.


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    #38
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,651 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    Ctrl Alt Del wrote: »
    ...Today,im going to review all my personal items that are of support / warranty with my supplier and can affect my life style :...

    Consider how many of them last until they are 13 yrs...


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    #39
    Ctrl Alt Del
    Registered Users Posts: 357 ✭✭Ctrl Alt Del


    beauf wrote: »
    Consider how many of them last until they are 13 yrs...


    I love saying that is not the age,but rather the mileage ! :)


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    #40
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,651 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    There old pilots and wild pilots. But few old and wild pilots.


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    #41
    PrzemoF
    Registered Users Posts: 1,931 ✭✭✭PrzemoF


    Ctrl Alt Del wrote: »
    [..]
    -My car is way out of support with supplier...I'll advise my wife to get a loan and buy a new one,latest edition as that will give her peace of mind when driving along the arses on M50 and ..make the bankers so fcukign happy when payment with interest done every month !
    [..]

    Would you drive your car if you knew that it might start vocally abusing pedestrians? :eek: That's exactly the case when your PC is a spam sending zombie and it might happen if you keep using XP.


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    #42
    riclad
    Registered Users Posts: 8,184 ✭✭✭riclad


    NO ones gonna hack into your car, and get your financial info,read all your email,
    s ,copy your photos, and acess your bank account ,credit card account.
    USING xp pc to bank online now,or buy anything online now, is very risky and foolish.

    The best case is your pc will be used to host malware, and used as part of a bot network ,to attack other websites, even if you do not use it for banking online,or online shopping.
    And of course any facebook, info, or im message is being copied, including private messages .

    ITS like leaving a car parked on the street unlocked,in the city centre for 1 month, at some point it,ll be robbed or vandalised


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    #43
    Ste-
    Registered Users Posts: 4,751 ✭✭✭Ste-


    riclad wrote: »
    ITS like leaving a car parked on the street unlocked,in the city centre , at some point it,ll be robbed or vandalised.

    Like leaving your car with personal info in it.


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    #44
    The Black Oil
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 18,283 CMod ✭✭✭✭The Black Oil


    I've a family friend in her 60s and who isn't very technical, but can manage a little bit of email/surfing/documents. Her laptop is Philips Freevent - I don't have the exact model or spec to hand. Anyway, it's XP and fairly old, plus the battery appears to be gone as the machine conks out once you remove the mains. She doesn't have a need to use it outside of her apartment.

    Solution is either a new basic-middle of the road laptop with Windows 8. A few hundred Euro would probably get her a decent one. But I think the leap from XP to 8 might be a little tricky for her. Were Win 7 laptops still around I'd probably pick one for her.

    Or else some sort of Linux solution. I've never used it myself and know almost nothing about it. Reading some of the XP threads here might this might be an idea - Mint? Obviously I'd back up her data before doing anything, if this is a viable alternative. She currently uses Outlook Express for email - I presume there is something that can work as a client on Linux, and printer drivers - are they easily found?

    Any thoughts?

    Moderator: Television, Psychology and Dublin County North.

    CMod: Entertainment



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    #45
    riclad
    Registered Users Posts: 8,184 ✭✭✭riclad


    MAYBE buy her a windows 7 laptop, 150 euro on adverts.ie ,
    backup her data to the win7 laptop.
    Then remove all personal info,files, from old laptop.

    http://lifehacker.com/5871840/the-best-email-client-for-linux

    so far i,ve never had a problem getting linux to work on any device.

    I Do,nt know why anyone not running a business needs an email client.
    Switch her over to gmail, webmail.
    make sure banking info, login passwords, email passwords ,or not still set to
    auto login in the browsers ,chrome, firefox etc on the laptop before you sell it.

    ALL laptop batterys stop working after a few years.


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    #46
    Tokyo
    Politics Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,655 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tokyo


    Philips Freevent, it's at least six years old, perhaps older, and with a knackered battery, it may well be time to consider upgrading - either picking up something secondhand or buying something new. For her level of use, a few hundred euro will certainly cover something that she needs - as has been suggested, there are some cheap secondhand options online.

    If you go down the route of Linux Mint, then out of the box it will do almost everything that your friend requires - it comes with Firefox and libOffice pre-installed, and you can download a copy of thunderbird to replace Outlook Express on her Windows machine. Yes there are webmail alternatives, but if she's comfortable with a mail client then there's no reason for her to change. Just remember to export all of her old mails and contacts from outlook before formatting, so that they can be imported to thunderbird afterwards.

    One recommendation would be to download a copy of Linux Mint, make a bootable USB key, bring it round to your friend's place and run it from the key. She can play around with it for a bit and see if she's comfortable with it, before deciding to install it or not.


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    #47
    The Black Oil
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 18,283 CMod ✭✭✭✭The Black Oil


    Thanks both.
    mike_ie wrote: »
    One recommendation would be to download a copy of Linux Mint, make a bootable USB key, bring it round to your friend's place and run it from the key. She can play around with it for a bit and see if she's comfortable with it, before deciding to install it or not.

    I could do that myself and see what it's like. Which one is suitable to put on a key?

    Moderator: Television, Psychology and Dublin County North.

    CMod: Entertainment



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    #48
    long_b
    Registered Users Posts: 4,935 ✭✭✭long_b


    The Black Oil wrote: »
    Thanks both.



    I could do that myself and see what it's like. Which one is suitable to put on a key?

    Either MATE or Cinnamon 32bit.
    Very little difference between them.


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    #49
    Tokyo
    Politics Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,655 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tokyo


    Doesn't get much more straightforward than the instructions laid out here:
    http://www.computersnyou.com/2803/2013/12/create-bootable-live-usb-linux-mint-16-petra-windows-linux-mac/


    [edit]As has been already mentioned the 32bit version of MATE or Cinnamon. They're just two different desktop environments. Personally I think that the layout of cinnamon will be pretty clear to a Windows user.


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    #50
    PropJoe10
    Registered Users Posts: 5,254 ✭✭✭PropJoe10


    The Black Oil wrote: »
    I've a family friend in her 60s and who isn't very technical, but can manage a little bit of email/surfing/documents. Her laptop is Philips Freevent - I don't have the exact model or spec to hand. Anyway, it's XP and fairly old, plus the battery appears to be gone as the machine conks out once you remove the mains. She doesn't have a need to use it outside of her apartment.

    Solution is either a new basic-middle of the road laptop with Windows 8. A few hundred Euro would probably get her a decent one. But I think the leap from XP to 8 might be a little tricky for her. Were Win 7 laptops still around I'd probably pick one for her.

    Or else some sort of Linux solution. I've never used it myself and know almost nothing about it. Reading some of the XP threads here might this might be an idea - Mint? Obviously I'd back up her data before doing anything, if this is a viable alternative. She currently uses Outlook Express for email - I presume there is something that can work as a client on Linux, and printer drivers - are they easily found?

    Any thoughts?

    I'm personally a big fan of Linux but just on one thing you said there - there is no need to be scared of Windows 8 at all, especially 8.1. You can boot straight to desktop and can also use the likes of Classic Shell to make it look like 7 or XP. I use Windows 8 with Classic Shell and havent seen the metro desktop in months.


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    #51
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,651 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    The Black Oil wrote: »
    I....But I think the leap from XP to 8 might be a little tricky for her. ...

    Install Classic Shell on Windows 8 (or similar) which turns off metro GUI, and 99% of users couldn't tell the difference between XP and Windows 8. Its the same GUI underneath. Takes 20sec.


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    #52
    riclad
    Registered Users Posts: 8,184 ✭✭✭riclad


    IF battery is dead on a laptop its better to remove it,

    free win7 style menu,

    http://www.cnet.com/uk/how-to/how-to-get-the-start-menu-back-in-windows-8/


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    #53
    a clanger
    Registered Users Posts: 353 ✭✭a clanger


    I have installed Linux Mint on my elderly parents old dell. I had 'roadtested' it on an old laptop first. I also installed chrome as thats the browser they are familiar with. I have to say its fantastic. Simple and lightning fast compared to the clunking XP !. The machine only has about 1gb of memory so linux Mint was perfect.
    Thunderbird instead of Outlook for mail
    VLC for media (were using this on XP)
    Picasa for photo's (again were using on XP )
    The new HP printer/scanner we got at Xmas was no problem as the driver files were preinstalled.
    I think MINT tends to be a more user friendly OS out of the box the Ubuntu
    Anyway its my opinion and v happy we switched


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