I've been thinking about changing over from windows xp to a linux OS for a little while now. The main reason being, that i have heard linux OS' are less prone to viruses and hackers. Linux also appeals to me in the sense that it utilizes free software created within a community and does not charge 100's of pounds for the software. Saying that I already use Open source software, such as Gimp and in the past, open office. The only apprehensions I have are whether the Linux OS would be compatible with my hardware. Will the OS support my modem etc, how easy will it be to set up drivers etc... I have no experience of using Linux and therefore do not know exactly how different it would be to using Windows. My question therefore is should i try linux (baring in mind i'm a total noob) at the cost of potentially messing up my PC Is linux easy to learn, how essential is it to know how to write code if essential at all? Thanks
just a suggestion try a live cd or usb/sd card linux distro and take your time learning linux it will not effect your windows pc and you can copy any new files you need to the root copy directory while in windows you then can select boot from usb hard drive in your bios and each time you reboot you can either go back to regular windows unharmed or a fresh boot of linux no risk i use Criminal Activities edited by ddp not freeware google search for the best live build for you...
That sounds like a good idea. Ive used knoppix before but that was on an older pc and it ran slow. My current pc is alittle better, dual core, 1gig ram Is there a particular distro you could recommend? I've had a look for Criminal Activities, but cannot find it
lol, Criminal Activities was a mod censoring out waytohigh's admission of carrying out criminal acts, not a distro. Ubuntu is a good place to start.
aye Mick.. ubuntu for bloat or puppy for sleek but limited. Noobuntu does seem to be very good with wireless these days.. knoppix is an antique.. slax keeps on trucking .. I managed eventually to get (the discontinued) kororaa to boot eventually.. but to blow your bits off and see state of the art.. the 32 bit variant of sabayon is a beauty.. EXCEPT they have forgotten to put any way to change the network settings on the live cd... and they aren't using ifconfig in any kind of normal way.. typical gentoo boys again. hehehehe.. and cap'n criminal got busted it seems. Not clever admitting and encouraging wpa hacking is it XD
I tried out Ubuntu about six months ago now, I got rid of Windows after two days. It's a fantastic distro for a newbie, excellent hardware support and very easy to use. I'm now running Mint (It's based on Ubuntu), so is my girlfriend, my cousin, my dad, my brother and my grandmother. The one thing you have to keep in mind is that Linux is not Windows, you will encounter things that are different, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Sounds like we have another happy customer. There is a distro for everybody out there.. just takes trying a few until you feel happy.
Linux is very easy to use with a little help. There's also an inmense community out there to help you start. however,if you still don't feel comfortable enough you can try dual booting if you want or even better buy a salavaged lappy (they're like $100) with at least 1 gb ram install any linux distro, give it a drive and watch it fly. Im sure with a little practice you will like it. ^_^
pentesting isn't in itself criminal.. on your own networks or ones you are employed to test.. the problem is the tools and techniques can be used for malicious purposes.. how to hack your network or pc is the same as how to hack every other network and pc on the planet.. It's a matter of ethics.. and there are places which deal with those ethical issues (ask a lawyer about spreading information which can and will be used for malicious purposes into the public arena.. specifically about personal liability for damages when your information is used to say hack a government system) and various methods.. but usually it's look and ye shall find.. because people who ask get nothing!!! Try it and see .. remote-exploit have forums.. go ask them how to break into a network from outside.. see what response you get.
yeah thats true but the differance is my five year old nephew can use my mac and my five year old niece can use windows its more so a matter of starting with that system and learning it from the start for example my dad is a general user for music and movies web browsing and he has been using windows since 95 and he purchased a mac the other day and he now doesn't know anything about it and he is asking me how to do all general things like keyboard commands and where applications are and the absence of a my computer and start menu so to sum it up it takes some learning from the start i had no knowledge when i started using linux and now i know moderate usage on the system and i would like to say Linux is a very nice system but my opinion is they need to branch out to computer manufacturers to sell preloaded computers in stores get more recognition
Well that can be because it is the only OS that kid has ever seen. Like how most people have only ever used Windows. I had Ubuntu and had it running like my Windows machine in a matter of 20 minutes. DVD authoring, Open office, Firefox, and several other programs that made it just as easy to use as my Windows machine. No registry either and that is a plus. Windows however does control most of the market. If it wasn't for Windows I would essentially be without a career. So in the end of the day it is what you feel comfortable using most. If you already have a windows use Wubi to install a Ubuntu partition for you. They even made that easy, one click and you are running a dual boot machine with Windows and Ubuntu and you can compare them for yourself.
what total drivel.. there was a world with computers in it well before M$ and their apologists came along. wubi is crap.. broken, built for retards who can't read how to partition and install grub.. and as for mint.. on some hardware it's good, on others it's rubbish.. just depends on the hardware.
He may live in Redmond, WA; or for a Linux distributor. My original IBM PC is still with me. My granddaughter can't yet lift its keyboard. What if they had gone with the award-winning, 24-bit IBM 801 RISC chip and it's advanced operating system? Where would repairmen be then? In 25 years, no one has ever asked me to please repair the software on an Apple or Sun... About advice, my granddaughter says skip the grub and go for the kitten: Berry Linux (w/Flash, SELinux, & a Kitten) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berry_Linux May I remark that 'the kitten' comes with a kernel highly modified by the US Department of Defense (SELinux), and is a variant of Fedora, with rpm archives. Oh, she says after he's comfortable with Linux, MrPuffin should advise his niece to 'Go GNU.' (She means boot Debian Linux on a USB stick directly from Windows, I think; but she keeps staring at the kitten.) Debian Jr Project http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-jr/ Well, it ran that alternative 801 processor on the IBM System 370 Supercomputer, and it offers 30,000 free applications with source code to learn from or modify. She says 'GRUB is for old guys.' (Hey!) Check setup.exe. (?) Preparing Debian GNU/Linux Files for USB Flash Drive Bloating http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch04s03.html.en
Just point him to the 'Help' menu. Because he's used Windows' he's not used to going there for help. Most MacOSX users (I have no doubt) use their OOUI as Windows's GUI: they 'Go' to 'Applications' and press one. Try creating a folder in /Applications/Utilities called /Video, then make an alias to a Desktop folder with the same name. Here you can add downloaded applications to one folder inside, and organize your movies in another. To do something unusual with a movie file, open the little folder of video applications and drag & drop (carry & place) the file on the application of your choice. (Double-click - select & open - a movie just to view it. The icon will assure the default application is a viewer. If you slowly 'tune' OOUI to your activities, it can become very easy & fast to use.
