@Lookout

Time to move to linux

free open sourced OS
https://www.ubuntu.com/

Multimedia fans should check out Ubuntu Studio https://www.ubuntustudio.org . This Ubuntu distro is free, open-source, non-profit, and is maintained by lovers of computer multimedia (audio/video).

If anyone reading this is running a machine based on the Intel Bay Trail or Cherry Trail multicore processor ICs, please drop me a message.

We need to get serious about exorcising the capitalist assholes from our computers (for which we've paid) and our data and our information lives.

free open sourced OS
https://www.ubuntu.com/

I just got a little laptop with linux and learning to use it. My desktop still runs on Windows 7 - however I don't have auto updates - so maybe they haven't sabotaged my system yet.

My GF was recently screwed on an international flight - late flight, no connections - and there was zero recourse.

MS. Zero recourse.

Banks? Zero recourse.

Over and over, the rules and power of the consumer have changed. We have gone from customer to consumer over the last few years, and I don't think many of us noticed.

Consumers, unlike customers or citizens, have no recourse.
@arendt

since, duh, 2016.

I have refused all updates; but somehow, they forced a reboot of my machine so that when i went to open Office, I got this "The Fine Print" splash screen demanding that I sign a new EULA (End User License Agreement) in order to get at a new version of Office 2016 that magically appeared on my machine with the reboot.

Bottom line: They broke into my machine, they stole my paid-for software, and they are holding me up for ransom.

It took several days to even find out what was going on. At first, users who were worried this was some kind of malware kept asking M$ to confirm or deny that. Eventually, in some obscure M$ forum, they claimed the whole thing was a "mistake" they made. They claim an update accidentally caused the system to think any attempt to open Office was for a brand new copy.

Yeah, right. That's why a brand new copy magically appeared on my machine.

----

I am so done with these slimy crooks. I'm putting Ubuntu on my machine ASAP.

Also, I'm buying a RAID1-NAS box. These are sometimes called "personal clouds". I completely agree that I do not want my info in the cloud. And why should I, when keeping it safe at home costs about what you would pay for cloud storage for a year? Not to mention backing up critical stuff on thumb drives.

Basically, a RAID1 box has two disks each with a copy of the same files. If one goes down, you can rebuild it from the other. Of course, if you want to "hot swap" the dead drive, you will have to pay a few bucks extra. But, I found a 4TB (x 2) box for about $400 at B&H Photo
Video (where I buy all my electronics in order to avoid the Amazon monster).

Thanks for this news and fuck microsoft sideways. Rotten bastards from day one.

@sny
That is the real issue for me.

The live tiles in the start menu are simply advertisements. I shut all of those off. But your computer is still constantly (many times an hour) using network bandwith to download Ad data. And burning CPU cycles to scan your system for advertising markers. This chews about 30% CPU utilization on my i5 machine 10-15 times an hour for several minutes. I run a small program that watches for the M$ utilities that do this and kill them as soon as they start. It's pathetic.

I would have moved to Linux years ago but still need Windoze for developing software. At some point, I will just say enuff is enuff.

I beg to differ. Windows 10 isn't an operating system - its an advertising platform.

@Arrow

The start of the web for me...

I was running Linux 0.98 at the time and just upgraded to 1.13 (way more stable and somewhat legendary).
Downloaded and compiled NCSA Mosaic 'web browser'. I was so proud of myself when I got the 'globe to spin' in he top right corner. At the time you could only navigate though HTTP to NCSA and CERN. But you could also use it as a FTP client(which I did most of the time). That's where Linux started for me. Overnight downloads on a dial up connection to FTP.HUT.FI/pub/linux/.

spelling corrected

Memories! I certainly remember overnight dialup downloads!
(I, too, go back that far!)

So what is your opinion about how Tutankhamun governed us, way back when? And is that memory why you want a Pony?

I was running Linux 0.98 at the time and just upgraded to 1.13 (way more stable and somewhat legandery).
Downloaded and compiled NCSA Mosaic 'web browser'. I was so proud of myself when I got the 'globe to spin' in he top right corner. At the time you could only navigate though HTTP to NCSA and CERN. But you could also use it as a FTP client(which I did most of the time). That's where Linux started for me. Overnight downloads on a dial up connection to FTP.HUT.FI/pub/linux/.

@Wink

VirtualBox is a cross-platform virtualization application. What does that mean? For one thing, it installs on your existing Intel or AMD-based computers, whether they are running Windows, Mac, Linux or Solaris operating systems. Secondly, it extends the capabilities of your existing computer so that it can run multiple operating systems (inside multiple virtual machines) at the same time. So, for example, you can run Windows and Linux on your Mac,

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch01.html

That is, the hypervisor sits ON TOP OF a platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) that you choose, and it lets you run different OSs in Virtual Machines. But the virtual machines are all being managed by your platform.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about hypervisors:

Type-1, native or bare-metal hypervisors

These hypervisors run directly on the host's hardware to control the hardware and to manage guest operating systems. For this reason, they are sometimes called bare metal hypervisors. The first hypervisors, which IBM developed in the 1960s, were native hypervisors.[4] These included the test software SIMMON and the CP/CMS operating system (the predecessor of IBM's z/VM). Modern equivalents include AntsleOs[5], Xen, XCP-ng, Oracle VM Server for SPARC, Oracle VM Server for x86, Microsoft Hyper-V, Xbox One system software, and VMware ESX/ESXi.

Type-2 or hosted hypervisors

These hypervisors run on a conventional operating system (OS) just as other computer programs do. A guest operating system runs as a process on the host. Type-2 hypervisors abstract guest operating systems from the host operating system. VMware Workstation, VMware Player, VirtualBox, Parallels Desktop for Mac and QEMU are examples of type-2 hypervisors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypervisor

So, if you are running Windows, and you download VB, any Linux that runs on VB is depending on Windows for system hypervisor services. The VB hypervisor does NOT replace Windows.

or Mac.
Screw Windows, run on Linux instead!
As much as it is a pain in the ass to learn the quirky navigation - after 20 years Linux STILL hasn't made themselves anywhere close to User Friendly - once you spend a couple three days on the learning curve you're good to go!
And thanks to the virtual gods, VirtualBox makes it easy.
ok, easier.
(trust me, it used to be a Real pain)!
So just DL and install the FREE (key word) VirtualBox for your PC or Mac.
(need about 2-4 gigs of Ram and about 50-150 gigs of HD space available)
just follow the Install destructions here for a great How To for VirtualBox installation - AND Linux install once VirtualBox is installed! Go step by step and you can't go wrong. DL and install any virgin of Linux you like - After you have VirtualBox installed.
Need help holler.

@Snode

The ISP's are also monitoring data (we know when you've been bad or good so cough up $1,500 for that copy of "Hey, Jude" you downloaded illegally).

I'm not clear if the ISP can monitor the content you download from BitTorrent. But certainly using BitTorrent puts a flag up on you.

Then there is open source Linux that can prob. be monitored, it's just not as popular as MS stuff.

Well, at least its not the Linux itself doing the monitoring. You can examine the code of Linux. If there were any trackers/monitors in that code, they would have been discovered and called out. So, the monitoring falls back to the same as ISP.

Then there is encryption and VPN. I am not so sure how it can't be monitored

.

Apple's encryption seems pretty serious, given what a noise was made about the FBI being unable to crack it. (But they called in some Israeli firm that could. Geez, it seems like the Israelis own monitoring the internet.)

Both file encryption and VPN make life harder for Big Brother. He has to expend resources to break in. But with the Bluffdale, UT site storing every last bit that is sent on the internet, they don't have to crack everything. They wait until they suspect someone. Then they only crack that person's files/emails. So, if you are a big fish, like Assange, they have plenty of resources to apply. However, if you are one little fish among millions of other little fish, you might not be noticed.

Encryption seems bulletproof.

Perhaps double encryption (encrypting an already encrypted text) is beyond cracking at this time. But single encryption may not be. There are also persistent rumors that the crypto standards have had weaknesses built in.

VPN seems good, but I just can't see it being hack proof.

Same story as crypto.

I know there's non MS products, and search engines that supposedly don't track you.

Here, you are differentiating between Big Brother tracking you and commercial surveillance for marketing and data.

-----

Bottom line: if you are an average person, it is hard to stay private. Certainly don't store info in the cloud. Use hard drives and thumb drives in your home that you control. Don't put those devices online. As for the data they collect when you go searching, I am a little uneducated. I know TOR, The Onion Router, is supposed to be a good anonymizer. (Certainly using it will put you on a "bad guy" list, because TPTB don't like you trying to do that.) But, again, there are rumors that the NSA knows how to crack it. Supposedly they lurk at the entrance/exit nodes and correlate TOR traffic with known ordinary traffic.

I haven't felt much need to protect myself yet. I am not an activist. I do not hand my contact info out to random strangers for political purposes. If I were to decide to become active, I would think more deeply on privacy than I have in this response.

Maybe 3/4. I am assuming it's like Facef**k, you rent a Microsoft product, and they essentially have access to your data. They wouldn't want their product used the *wrong* way. The ISP's are also monitoring data (we know when you've been bad or good so cough up $1,500 for that copy of "Hey, Jude" you downloaded illegally). Then there is open source Linux that can prob. be monitored, it's just not as popular as MS stuff. Then there is encryption and VPN. I am not so sure how it can't be monitored. Encryption seems bulletproof. The search for alien signals falls apart because if it's digital we prob. can't decode it. VPN seems good, but I just can't see it being hack proof. I know there's non MS products, and search engines that supposedly don't track you. So, I guess I'm asking what can we do to not be captured by this stuff?

@jbob

Windows 10 sucks! I purchased a laptop with win 10 on it and then had to wipe it and put Linux on so it would actually work. Also, I'm running windows 7 on my desktop and have installed all the recommended updates without any issues. FYI.

punctuation adjusted due to format change

So when are you migrating your desktop to Linux? (And yes, I advocate doing just that.)

I purchased a laptop with win 10 on it and then had to wipe it and put Linux on so it would actually work. Also, I'm running windows 7 on my desktop and have installed all the recommended updates without any issues. FYI.

@The Voice In the Wilderness

Don't use Microsoft products unless your employer forces you to. I'm typing this on a Linux system that is every bit as functional as Windoze and has programs that can read and write Excel and Word files. Some very very good programmers maintain these for love of programming and a belief in software for the good of all mankind. It's actually easier than the labyrinthine process that MS uses to keep their people from knowing too much.

Preach it, The Voice In The Wilderness!!

WARNING! RedHat Linux is a for profit corporation. Do not trust them.
FreeBSD is good too, just not as prevalent.

The Ubuntu base is also from a for-profit corporation (Canonical Limited in the UK), but they're open about their business model, which doesn't involve charging for Ubuntu. Instead, Canonical makes its money supporting large enterprise clients throughout the world who use Ubuntu. This is really clever if you think about it for a moment: nearly all the R&D to solve Ubuntu problems is done by the Ubuntu community for free, and Canonical then charges its enterprise customers to implement, support and maintain them. Canonical is making a fine profit while doing this, and meanwhile offering the software itself for free.

Compare/contrast that with MicroShaft's one!

As for the BSDs (Berkeley UNIX in all but name), they're excellent server operating systems, but leave something to be desired for end-user desktop use. But as Shockwave Flash fades off into the twilight as a standard Internet technology, the BSDs are catching up. TrueOS (formerly PC-BSD) is a pretty good desktop OS in the BSD family.

For most of the folks here, however, I'd recommend sticking to Linux. The Linux distributions ("distros") we've been discussing are geared towards the desktop and the typical desktop end user.

that he copied from the Naval Postgraduate School.
MSDOS itself is a knockoff of CP-M with a simplified (crippled) interface and vastly reduced price.
Gates' true vocation was as Robber Baron, stealing and cheating his way to the top. Giving the Devil his due, he is very very good at it. Perhaps the Best.

Don't use Microsoft products unless your employer forces you to. I'm typing this on a Linux system that is every bit as functional as Windoze and has programs that can read and write Excel and Word files. Some very very good programmers maintain these for love of programming and a belief in software for the good of all mankind. It's actually easier than the labyrinthine process that MS uses to keep their people from knowing too much.
WARNING! RedHat Linux is a for profit corporation. Do not trust them.
FreeBSD is good too, just not as prevalent.