Reflections on Linux and Trojans
Since I began using Ubuntu I have encountered some strange reactions, especially from people who have never tried Linux before or have had very limited experience of very early versions of Linux. These reactions have ranged from people hearing good things about Linux and curious about how I am getting on with it and perhaps toying with the idea of trying it out for themselves to those people who find it incredulous that I could ever think of using anything but Windows. Afterall Windows is the most popular operating system so surely it must be the best, seems to be their illogical reasoning!
Linux also seems to instill feelings of fear in some Windows users. They do not even want to try Linux on one of my computers. It’s almost as if they think that touching a computer with Linux installed will contaminate them in some way or perhaps it is just the fear of the unknown that is getting the better of them. However, after fighting with the removal of a trojan on a Windows XP netbook last night, I have first hand experience of the advantage of a Linux environment! For any Windows users wondering how to start to clean their system after becoming infected the Geeks to Go, Malware and Spyware Cleaning Guide is a great help.
It has been a few weeks now since I first installed Ubuntu and the experience has been totally pleasurable. However, I am still dual booting and cannot see a time at the moment when Linux will be my sole operating system. The main problem is with a lack of industry standard programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver being able to run under a native Linux operating system. Gimp and Inkscape seem to be very good substitutes and for hobbyist users they are ideal. However, I am not so sure about them taking the place of Photoshop and Illustrator in commercial situations. There are also no equivalents to Poser, Vue or Modo so I think I will be dual booting for some time yet. However, for someone who mainly does web browsing, email and photo touch-ups, Ubuntu is a great introduction to the world of Linux. On the other hand, I am very happy to have Linux as a web development testing environment and have found Bluefish to be a good substitute for Dreamweaver.
I was very interested to come across three blogs where the authors changed their operating systems for a limited period of time. At AyeTea, A Room Without Windows a group of experienced windows users tried out Linux for 30 days and at Kiloblog the opposite happened. Interestingly, at What the Tech the author changed from Windows when he bought himself a new MacBook Pro. I’ve been thinking of changing to a Mac for years but the expense has always been a deterrent because, as well as buying a new machine with a new OS, it would also be necessary to buy all my software again in the Mac versions. This is one of the great things about Linux. It costs nothing to try out except a little time in setting it up and becoming familiar with it.
Tags: Linux, mac, trojan, ubuntu, virus, windows
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