Computer virus fixing threads

Or activate the long-anticipated Tech Board and sticky it there.

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Here's the only virus removal you'll every need:

Install Linux

Don't use Windows.

no virus - ever

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Or compatibility.

And spare me about the shite you can do to emulate Windows - you're still using windows if you have to emulate it in my book, Linux fanboy

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I think over 90% of home users would do just fine running Linux. After all, doesn't everyone looking to buy a new computer say "I just need something for email and web browsing"?

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Agreed, but trying to explain to a "non computer person" that to install a flash plugin for their browser (for surfing sites like YouTube) they should type "sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree" into the Terminal, I'm willing to bet that half of them stop listening before "apt-get"



ETA: as simple and powerful as Linux OSes can be(Universal Repositories being a HUGE plus), it's not what most people are accustomed to, and, from experience, people don't typically like to learn.

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it's pretty rare to have to manually install a driver in Linux

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I've always wanted to try out Ubuntu but I'm settled in my ways with Windows. Why fix it if it ain't broke?

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A lot of times you don't know that something is broken unless you try something else. Another good reason to try it is to expand your knowledge. A little learning never killed anybody.

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Why fix it if it ain't broke?

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Dual boot, FTW!

You can install Ubuntu "next to" Windows on your hard drive (I've never seen Windows NOT leave enough room for this to be done). You can choose which one you want to boot into any time, or you can use unetbootin on a 2-4 GB flash drive, and run your entire OS from your USB stick.

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What would be some benefits?

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Here's a short list of why I like it:

1. I like to tinker and learn how things work
2. Pretty much any type of program is available for free, and only takes one command to download and install.
3. It stays the hell out of my way and lets me get shite done.
4. The built in package manager checks ALL of the software on my system and keeps it updated. Not just drivers and system apps like Windows Update, and not a dozen background apps in the system tray that only update specific apps... everything

When I use a Windows computer now, everything I do on it feels like a huge hassle.

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2. Pretty much any type of program is available for free, and only takes one command to download and install.

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Want to get into music, audio, or video production? You're one command away from installing a multimedia studio (for free, and totally legal) that rivals anything you could want to buy.
Need to create a slideshow, spreadsheet, or text document? Open Office (or Libre Office) are far more than viable workarounds for MS Office. (Note: you will have problems running MS Excel macros in Open/Libre Office Calc (spreadsheet utility). You also will not be able to collaborate with Access users on databases (you can convert them and open them, but you have to save them as .odb, not .mdb), but this is more of an enterprise-end issue than home-end)
There are functional open-source alternatives to nearly every piece of software on the market.

The inherent security (you can't install programs without the admin password) makes it far more difficult for malicious software to find its way into your system.


And it has a much lower footprint on your system utilities than most modern-day OS. "Yesterday's" computers can run "today's" Linux distros without much compensation at all.

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Want to get into music, audio, or video production? You're one command away from installing a multimedia studio (for free, and totally legal) that rivals anything you could want to buy.

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Really now? You've really piqued my interest with that one. I play music and love fooling around with music production and I like to record myself playing games and video editing stuff together.

I think I'll download Ubuntu and start giving it some testing.

lol i downloaded it but I need to get a dvd so I can burn the ISO onto it. I imagine you have to boot from CD.. or would it be possible to use like alcohol 120 or some virtual drive and install it that way?