i want to install linux on my computer, but worried about viruses Post: 302365531

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Operating Systems Linux i want to install linux on my computer, but worried about viruses Post 302365531 by pludi on Tuesday 27th of October 2009 10:29:15 AM

10-27-2009

Registered User

Let's see if I can answer some of your questions:

Depends. Since Linux isn't made by a company, but a whole load of volunteers, there isn't a fixed response time. Generally, you'll have to differ between project/upstream response time (those who write/wrote the software where a bug is found) and distribution response time (time between a fix and it's availability in the repository).

So far, the most horror stories about break-ins on Linux systems wasn't because there was no fix available, but because the administrator forgot to apply the fix. Notable exception: the Debian OpenSSL/OpenSSH bug, which went unnoticed for quite some time.
For someone used to MS desktops: probably Mint, maybe Kubuntu or Fedora.
If you aren't afraid of the command line, Ubuntu and a gradual switch to Debian.
If you want to delve right in, Gentoo, Slackware, or LFS.

Others might have different suggestions, as it's pretty subjective.
Again, depends. Most hardware should work fine, others might not. You might find "exotic" hardware working out-of-the-box, while "regular" won't. Example: a friend of mine tried to install Ubuntu on an Eeee PC. Wireless didn't work because the Windows driver screwed around with the firmware. Only remedy was to remove the battery, let it sit for a few minutes, re-insert the battery, which reset the wireless controller. After that it worked like a charm.

The best way to check this is, if available, to download a live-CD of your distribution of choice and start that. If you notice some hardware missing a bit of tweaking might be needed. If it's only your printer you're worried about: any modern Linux spooler (mostly CUPS these days) should have no problems with any printer. If it does, there's always OpenPrinting for drivers.

pludi

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LEARN ABOUT SUNOS

wireless

WIRELESS(7)						     Linux Programmer's Manual						       WIRELESS(7)

NAME

       wireless - Wireless Tools and Wireless Extensions

SYNOPSIS

       iwconfig
       iwpriv -a

DESCRIPTION

       The  Wireless  Extensions  is  an API allowing you manipulate Wireless LAN networking interfaces.  It is composed of a variety of tools and
       configuration files. It is documented in more detail in the Linux Wireless LAN Howto.
       The Wireless Tools are used to change the configuration of wireless LAN networking interfaces on the fly, to get their  current	configura-
       tion, to get statistics and diagnose them. They are described in their own man page, see below for references.
       Wireless  configuration	is specific to each Linux distribution. This man page will contain in the future the configuration procedure for a
       few common distributions. For the time being, check the file DISTRIBUTIONS.txt included with the Wireless Tools package.

DEBIAN 3.0
       In Debian 3.0 (and later) you can configure wireless LAN networking devices using the network configuration tool ifupdown(8).

       File : /etc/network/interfaces

       Form : wireless-<function> <value>
	      wireless-essid Home
	      wireless-mode Ad-Hoc

       See also :
	      /etc/network/if-pre-up.d/wireless-tools
	      /usr/share/doc/wireless-tools/README.Debian

SuSE 8.0
       SuSE 8.0 (and later) has integrated wireless configuration in their network scripts.

       Tool : Yast2

       File : /etc/sysconfig/network/wireless
	      /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-*

       Form : WIRELESS_<function>=<value>
	      WIRELESS_ESSID="Home"
	      WIRELESS_MODE=Ad-Hoc

       See also :
	      man ifup
	      info scpm

ORIGINAL PCMCIA SCRIPTS

       If you are using the original configuration scripts from the Pcmcia package, you can use this method.

       File : /etc/pcmcia/wireless.opts

       Form : *,*,*,*)
		  ESSID="Home"
		  MODE="Ad-Hoc"
		  ;;

       See also :
	      /etc/pcmcia/wireless
	      File PCMCIA.txt part of Wireless Tools package

AUTHOR

       Jean Tourrilhes - jt@hpl.hp.com
       http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/

SEE ALSO

       iwconfig(8), iwlist(8), iwspy(8), iwpriv(8), iwevent(8).

wireless-tools							   4 March 2004 						       WIRELESS(7)