Hello, all the net surfers out there. This is a must read for those of you who use Windows to browse the web. Almost 87% of our visitors use Windows, or so the Google Analytics say. And most of you might not be aware of the disadvantages of browsing the internet on any Windows machine. So I, Kevin Skywalker, decided to write a post to help you recognize the threats in time and to make amends to be less vulnerable to internet threats than you are now.
Viruses
The most common thing a typical Windows user complains about is that his computer gets affected by viruses frequently. Some unlucky chaps even had to format their hard drives completely when their computers stopped functioning properly. Viruses mostly get on our machines by means of attachments, cookies, executables, etc.
Lets say you are browsing a malicious website. The website stores a cookie on your hard drive. Even the browser doesn't stop it (Well, usually it is advised to use cookies so most browsers have them turned on by default). But the cookie contains some malicious code that somehow gets executed(off course, the website triggers it) and boom! Even before your antivirus software is able to detect the virus, it has already done enough damage that. So what can you do? Just read on the solution at the end of the article but I recommend you to read about the rest of the threats also.
Spyware (Identity Theft)
Well, this does not harm your machine but it seriously harms your life. All your accounts (including Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, etc.) and all other information you share online is at a very high risk. Even the transactions you make on trusted sites may put in your credit card number or net banking password at risk. It is not the fault of any of these websites, but your Operating System. Windows is very vulnerable to Key-loggers and other kinds of spy-wares. Most of the antivirus programs can't detect them.
According to Wikipedia page:
And I am not lying. In this way, I have, in front of my friends, gained access into their Facebook accounts and have seen their surprised faces. All that I needed was to know their IP address or to have direct access to their computer for 2 minutes. Again the solution is at the end.
Windows Genuine Advantage
Well, technically, it is not a threat. Those who have Genuine Windows, they have no reason to worry. But in developing countries like India, where approx. half of the computers run pirated Windows OSes, this is a great disadvantage of using Windows to connect to the internet. If you initiate a download from a Microsoft site, most likely a Windows Update will be downloaded and check if your copy of Windows is Genuine or not. If not, then several features are deactivated and an error message is displayed at startup and also during sessions encouraging you to buy original windows. Don't think that I support piracy, but if it happens to people unaware about it, then its not right to get them in trouble for it. In most cases, if you don't want to spend a lot of money on buying an Original Copy, you have to format your PC. I guess you have understood the gravity of the situation.
Solution: Switch to a Linux distro
Yes, switch your operating system, but if you want, only for browsing. Linux is not an operating system but a kernel (Those of you who are not familiar with these terms, please refer to Wikipedia). When a user interface layer is added to it, along with other utilities, etc., it is called an operating system. Each modified version of Linux in called a Distro. I hope you have somewhat grabbed the concept.
Why Linux?
As of yet, there is a high market share of Windows and Mac. Thus most viruses and malicious softwares are written keeping either of the two in mind and not Linux. Also, Linux has inbuilt features that protect it from such harmful softwares. Thus, viruses have no effect on Linux.
Same is the case with spy-wares. Most are written for Windows and there is a very less chance of getting infected with them on Linux. Since most Linux distros are open-source and free, there is no reason for a pirated copy. Since you will be using Linux for browsing, you will like a very light-weight distro. And that is also possible. You can install JoliOS on your hard-drive like like any normal Windows application and uninstall it whenever you like. Also, it will occupy only 4 GB on your hard-disk (At least 4GB is advisable).
So what are you waiting for? Grab your copy here. Download the version to run along-side Windows. After downloading, check their site for installation instructions (They are easy, really easy).
The most successful Linux Distro now-a-days is Ubuntu. I personally recommend Ubuntu as it is a powerful OS which is equal, if not better than, to Windows 7. Grab the latest version here. You can easily fit it into 15 GB of space. First check the article on "How to dual boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu 11.04" to make sure you don't make any mistake. You may have noticed that there aren't detailed steps to create an unpartitioned space in your Hard drive. To see how to do so, see our post,"How to create a new partition in Windows 7" and follow only till step 2.
Spyware (Identity Theft)
Well, this does not harm your machine but it seriously harms your life. All your accounts (including Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, etc.) and all other information you share online is at a very high risk. Even the transactions you make on trusted sites may put in your credit card number or net banking password at risk. It is not the fault of any of these websites, but your Operating System. Windows is very vulnerable to Key-loggers and other kinds of spy-wares. Most of the antivirus programs can't detect them.
According to Wikipedia page:
"Keystroke logging (often called keylogging) is the action of tracking (or logging) the keys struck on a keyboard, typically in a covert manner so that the person using the keyboard is unaware that their actions are being monitored."You can bypass such softwares by using the on-screen keyboard for typing sensitive information like passwords but then, there are some key-loggers that also take screenshots and record mouse-clicks. They then send the data they have collected to some predefined email account where the hacker can easily gain access into your accounts.
And I am not lying. In this way, I have, in front of my friends, gained access into their Facebook accounts and have seen their surprised faces. All that I needed was to know their IP address or to have direct access to their computer for 2 minutes. Again the solution is at the end.
Windows Genuine Advantage
Well, technically, it is not a threat. Those who have Genuine Windows, they have no reason to worry. But in developing countries like India, where approx. half of the computers run pirated Windows OSes, this is a great disadvantage of using Windows to connect to the internet. If you initiate a download from a Microsoft site, most likely a Windows Update will be downloaded and check if your copy of Windows is Genuine or not. If not, then several features are deactivated and an error message is displayed at startup and also during sessions encouraging you to buy original windows. Don't think that I support piracy, but if it happens to people unaware about it, then its not right to get them in trouble for it. In most cases, if you don't want to spend a lot of money on buying an Original Copy, you have to format your PC. I guess you have understood the gravity of the situation.Solution: Switch to a Linux distro
Yes, switch your operating system, but if you want, only for browsing. Linux is not an operating system but a kernel (Those of you who are not familiar with these terms, please refer to Wikipedia). When a user interface layer is added to it, along with other utilities, etc., it is called an operating system. Each modified version of Linux in called a Distro. I hope you have somewhat grabbed the concept.
Why Linux?
As of yet, there is a high market share of Windows and Mac. Thus most viruses and malicious softwares are written keeping either of the two in mind and not Linux. Also, Linux has inbuilt features that protect it from such harmful softwares. Thus, viruses have no effect on Linux.
Same is the case with spy-wares. Most are written for Windows and there is a very less chance of getting infected with them on Linux. Since most Linux distros are open-source and free, there is no reason for a pirated copy. Since you will be using Linux for browsing, you will like a very light-weight distro. And that is also possible. You can install JoliOS on your hard-drive like like any normal Windows application and uninstall it whenever you like. Also, it will occupy only 4 GB on your hard-disk (At least 4GB is advisable).
So what are you waiting for? Grab your copy here. Download the version to run along-side Windows. After downloading, check their site for installation instructions (They are easy, really easy).
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| Ubuntu Logo |
The most successful Linux Distro now-a-days is Ubuntu. I personally recommend Ubuntu as it is a powerful OS which is equal, if not better than, to Windows 7. Grab the latest version here. You can easily fit it into 15 GB of space. First check the article on "How to dual boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu 11.04" to make sure you don't make any mistake. You may have noticed that there aren't detailed steps to create an unpartitioned space in your Hard drive. To see how to do so, see our post,"How to create a new partition in Windows 7" and follow only till step 2.
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