Should I use Windows or Linux?
By dhatam7
@dhatam7 (258)
India
November 10, 2008 6:37am CST
Hi Everybody there! I am currently using Windows XP with a good antivirus (Antivir - updated daily), but I don't know how the viruses infect my system & last time I had a heavy loss with all my computer data lost. I have heard that Linux is less prone to virus, but I am much used to using Windows.
What do you suggest? Should I shift to Linux or install a far better antivirus, but my computer RAM is only 128 MB? If Linux, which flavour should suit my computer? Any other advice is also entertained?
1 person likes this
6 responses
@rosdimy (3926)
• Malaysia
10 Nov 08
Linux does not require a large amount of RAM compared to Windows. It has fewer viruses because it not widely used. Setting up Linux is more difficult. If your needs are simple and you are prepared to go through all the hassle then go for Linux. There are many free essential programs available on the Internet. Otherwise stick with XP.
How long have you had your PC? Your hard disk may be failing.
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
10 Nov 08
I personally prefer Windows XP. I have several virus programs. One runs constantly and the others I run manually. You might try increasing your RAM. There are plenty of free programs that might be of assistance to you. Remember it is not only viruses that you want to watch for. There are trojans, adware, spyware, etc. I think every operating system is prone to problems of some sort. It is up to you of how you handle those problems. I personally never rely on one line of defense. I hope this helps you to make decisions.
@dhatam7 (258)
• India
10 Nov 08
Hi royal52gens! First of all thanks for your advice. I also personally prefer Windows XP, but this virus problem has taken a toll of me. Actually I cannot increase my RAM, because my type RAM is not available in market & I don't want second-hand RAM. Thinking of buying a new compuer!!!
@pabremer (43)
• Brazil
10 Nov 08
HEY, READ THIS.
I'm using Linux now and I'm expert in this subject.
Look: Why are you using several anti-virus programs that is occupying all your memory, if you can live in harmony with your operational system, without using these electronic trash? Even using the best anti-virus software of the world, you aren't 100% protected in Windows.
Using Linux you are 99% secure without using any anti-virus program.
Many people say that Linux don't have good programs and bla bla bla. It's a lie! Using Linux you have access to use a lot of good programs, even better than Windows' programs (Ah, 99% of the programs that you can use in Linux is 100% free and without many bugs).
The only things that isn't good in Linux is the games. 90% of the games just run with Windows systems! But there is 2 good programs that you can emulate this games: Cedega and xWine. (or you can create a partition only for playing games.)
Ah, if your system isn't good, there's no problem! There is a lot of distributions that don't demands a good computer. Like "Damn Small Linux", "Arch Linux", etc.
If you have a good computer you can use great distributions like "Ubuntu", "Mandriva", "Slackware".
If you have a "damn strong" computer you can use OpenSuse, its really great. =]
So, DELETE THIS TRASH CALLED WINDOWS AND ENJOY LINUX WORLD! YOU'RE WELCOME!
1 person likes this
@pabremer (43)
• Brazil
10 Nov 08
Ah, forget to say: If you have any question. Go to Linux's Forum. Like "www.vivaolinux.com.br", "www.linuxforums.org", "www.linuxquestions.org", etc.
Almost all forums have a lot of good people that is waiting to help you.
When I start using Linux, I had some questions, I posted my question in "vivaolinux" and they did a great work and fix my problems. That's all.
@prajnith (941)
• India
12 Nov 08
If u are willing to get rid of Virus related stuffs i insist you move to LINUX and now a days LINUX are very user friendly and most of the linux even works with 128 MB ram but you might find it bit slow since you mentioned you are having old system, and you can use cross platform software in linux to run windows applications, only problem in linux is if something goes wrong its bit difficult to debug the problem..
So you choose ..
Want to get away from virus related problems you can move to LINUX with lil bit of inconvenience 
else stick to Windows..
else stick to Windows..
@prajnith (941)
• India
15 Nov 08
you are welcome..
And there are some Linux that looks exactly like Windows and there is shell named XPDE which is exact copy of Xp, you wont even notice that its LINUX.
I use Both Windows And Linux and i load Linux inside Windows using virtual Machine.
Have A nice Day.
Take Care.
.@dhatam7 (258)
• India
12 Nov 08
Hi prajnith! First of all thanks for advice. I think Linux will get more & more user-friendly as the time goes on & in the future I may think of shifting to it. But just now I prefer convenience & so I have stuck to Windows inspite of virus problems. Of course, Linux is catching quickly & is worth a try!!!
@manixxx (116)
• Japan
11 Nov 08
i would prefer to use windows coz it is user friendly and it is already the universal OS in the whole world. though some of it still have bugs and errors. Linux is also good, but some programs are not compatible with it, though they are free, it is very hard to find one. Linux is only for business purposes only because it has no bugs, no errors, and it is very important for companies so that no data will be lost. i guess, for personal use, Windows would be easy, but for corporate or office use, Linux is applicable.
@vetrivelans (99)
• India
12 Nov 08
hi dhatam
first you have to upgrade your RAM(or system)
use linux it will have lots of security there is no virus for linux if there is a chance for virus then the os will notify you
use Fedora linux or Mandriva linux
@dhatam7 (258)
• India
12 Nov 08
Thanks vetrivelans for the advice! Actually my type of RAM is difficult to get from the market, as I will have to buy it second-hand & it will be difficult to get it in good condition. Secondly, its good if OS will notify me of virus, but which AV can we use on Linux then or there is no need of any AV on Linux at all.
@cypresstwist (35)
• Romania
16 Nov 08
Give Linux a try. I removed Windows from my PC a long time ago and now I'm going Ubuntu full-time. It's faster, safer, more configurable, and Compiz is beautiful. There's no extent to witch you can configure it.
And yes, you won't find any viruses, spyware and malware in Linux. Your CPU won't be tortured by constant antivirus scanning and updates.
On a computer with 128 RAM, the latest Ubuntu will run just fine. If you want something even faster, try VectorLinux. Xandros is also a good choice for beginners.
