Internet Security Software for Windows 7 Laptop

 

JME Studios said, 1728730362

Thanks waist.it - I may wipe this non-TPM2.0 machine and install Linux when I replace it next year, which the EoL of Win10 will force my hand in doing.

Which flavour would you reccomend to someoe who's been using Windows since 1996, and AmigaOS/Workbench (I'm not joking!) before that?  I'd like to keep it as Windows-like as possible.

waist.it said, 1728740006

JME Studios said

Thanks waist.it - I may wipe this non-TPM2.0 machine and install Linux when I replace it next year, which the EoL of Win10 will force my hand in doing.

Which flavour would you reccomend to someoe who's been using Windows since 1996, and AmigaOS/Workbench (I'm not joking!) before that?  I'd like to keep it as Windows-like as possible.


Up until recently I'd have said Ubuntu, or Kubuntu (Ubuntu with Windows-like KDE Plasma desktop). *buntu is still very good. However I think Debian is better. Ubuntu is based heavily on Debian and almost all the commands are identical. So from point of view of learning GNU/Linux, there is little to choose. However we find that Debian's version upgrades tend to be smoother than Ubuntu. Debian also supports a greater range of hardware architectures, and importantly, it generally performs better on older hardware than Ubuntu.

For your purposes, I think Debian "Stable" c/w KDE Plasma desktop would be a very good choice. That's the one we use for customer installs. It should be very fast on your Win 10 machine. One "pro tip" if I may, treat yourself to a new SSD and put the old Win 10 disk in a cheapie enclosure - as per the bullets in my last post. Means you can go back to Windows if you decide you don't like Debian. Also means you can easily migrate your data across in an orderly manner. Finally, if/when you are happy with Debian, you can reformat the old drive and use it as a backup device.

Debian stable installer "Netinstall". This is the fastest way to install. Be sure to select "KDE Plasma Desktop" when it asks you and select "KDE Plasma Wayland" when you first  log in...

Debian stable "LiveCD" Allows you try Debian before installing it. However it is a much larger download. Also, running any OS from USB stick or DVD ROM is significantly slower than installing it properly to your HD/SSD...

PS. I was using Windows since 1991, the Mac-like Gem before that, with flirtations with Mac OS8 and OS9. Had a pal with a small recording studio so became pretty familiar with Atari too. So I have a fairly good feel for where you are coming from. :-)