I am confused!

[Oki]

Hi, I am trying my best to learn and use Ubuntu Linux, and I really love this OS. I will stick with it, no doubt about that. But I have been a little confused lately; there are mixed information out there. So if someone could comment these 4 questions I would appreciated it!

1:
I hva been told that I dont need a defragmenter for Ubuntu Linux, cus etc3 fix this for you every 15 times you boot it. This is one of the goodies with Linux that I have told others about:
But look at this: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=169551

2:
Then I have been told(read) that Ubuntu Linux is more safe since you log in as a user, not as a super user. So if you got a virus or trojans, they cant install themselves in other places but the users space.
But you can read this regarding Mac witch has the same system; “this program could be silently installed to your User account and hooked to each application you use… and it doesn't require Administrator rights to do so.” Link; http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archi....html#00001030
So, if this can happened to Mac OS X, then I dont understand why it cant happened to Linux – both normally requires password/sudo to install something?

3:
Then I have heard several times that I dont need any anti spyware/trojans programs under Linux, cus there aren't any. But I have a book about Ubuntu, witch has a guide on how to install anti spyware program for Linux, and recommended it.

4:
I have also heard that Linux needs less CPU then Windows, so shifting to Linux will be good since your applications can run faster. But I must say that I dont feel Ubuntu runs any faster then Windows XP when I am editing photos, writing in OOo and so on...

I am not whining, I am only wondering about those subjects – and I dont want to tell others wrongly about Linux. I will stick with Ubunut, I am really happy with it - but hate to be confused:confused:

[bionnaki]

1. defragging is really not necessary, but you can try that script if you are worried. I dont know anyone who defrags their linux install.

2. linux is vulnerable to viruses and rootkits etc just like OSX, but linux is not a target yet. Yes, a multi-user system does prevent many or most viruses (see the difference between windows and osx), but still there is no such thing as 100% security. linux is as good as we can get, though. I would not worry about it. Stick to the repos and you'll be fine.

3. there are viruses for linux, but they are extrememly rare. those who install anti-virus on linux are just paranoid. you can install if you wish.

4. I have never heard this. source?

[Oki]

Thanks for the reply bionnaki:-)

Sorry, I do not have any source. I am visiting a lot of different forums about Ubuntu and Linux, with English and Norwegian language – and have read it in different threads. I do belive people – mostly – and I guess I should be more critical. Fanboys can tell you very much! On this forum I have read in this forum people telling that dualcore would work as fast or better then in Windows.

In Windows I used defragmenter often, editing and moving pictures makes the disk a mess. I think I have read an article telling that you dont need defragmenter for Linux. I cant find it back, but it was about the NTFS vs. etc3. Will the disk be slower if I dont use that script under normal use?

[d3v1ant_0n3]

1 ) I, personally, have yet to see any sort of bogginess associated with fragmenting on my linux install. On the last fsck, it reported 1.9% non-contiguous files (fragmentation). I've not defragged since I first installed ubuntu, and I copy/cut/download/move files all the time (which always seems to fragment the heck out of my HDD in windows). But as said above, there are defrag tools for linux available.

2. Due to the user security, linux is indeed safer from malware than windows. It also has the added bonus over OSX over 'security through obscurity- due to the vast number of distros, kernels, and varying apps in the linux world, it's much harder to find exploits that could effect serious numbers of people- whereas with windows (and to some degree OSX), most people will just use trhe default browser and email program that comes with the OS. This may be the same with linux, but from distro to distro, the default browser (e.g.) can vary, so the 'hole' isn't as prevailent. BUt you should still practice safe surfing!

3. If you are dual booting linux/windows you may find an AV is handy (even just a precaution). You may get (e.g) a trojan in an email, and it do no harm withing linux, but if you open up the same email in Windows it can get to work.

4. i've found performance in Ubuntu much better than in Windows- The OS itself seems to use significantly less resources, and while the memory is constantly reported as heavily in use, this is due to the way linux uses memory (as a cache- much faster than using the HDD). I find oOo much faster to load in Ubuntu than in windows (which is on a higher spec machine with more RAM), ditto Firefox and GIMP. But i can't speak for anyone else here.

Please note: just my opinions and understandings- my knowledge and logic may be severly flawed!

Have fun with Ubuntu, and remember the mantra:

LINUX IS NOT WINDOWS...LINUX IS NOT WINDOWS...

[princemackenzie]

Thanks for the reply bionnaki:-)

Sorry, I do not have any source. I am visiting a lot of different forums about Ubuntu and Linux, with English and Norwegian language – and have read it in different threads. I do belive people – mostly – and I guess I should be more critical. Fanboys can tell you very much! On this forum I have read in this forum people telling that dualcore would work as fast or better then in Windows.

In Windows I used defragmenter often, editing and moving pictures makes the disk a mess. I think I have read an article telling that you dont need defragmenter for Linux. I cant find it back, but it was about the NTFS vs. etc3. Will the disk be slower if I dont use that script under normal use?

Oki, I have never felt the need to defrag, and I do a lot of photos and move big files around a lot. I really would not worry about it.

Also, as ubuntu has matured, it keeps getting faster to me. I really can't tell much of a difference in speed between XP and Edgy now. Also remember XP is 5 years old - I'm sure GNOME or KDE from 5 years ago would be quite fast on today's hardware too!

[Oki]

Thanks all for clearing this up for me:-D

Once more you have proven this to be a great community!

[Lord Illidan]

4:
I have also heard that Linux needs less CPU then Windows, so shifting to Linux will be good since your applications can run faster. But I must say that I dont feel Ubuntu runs any faster then Windows XP when I am editing photos, writing in OOo and so on...

Linux does need less CPU than Windows. Ubuntu is a slightly bloated distro however. If you want to feel speed, use Xubuntu, Zenwalk Linux, DSL, etc. Gnome and KDE are sometimes the causes of major slowdowns.

[Tomosaur]

The difference between spyware and a virus is that spyware can very often exploit weaknesses in software from a completely different computer to get information / cause bad things to happen. Web browsers are typically affected by this. If the web server is infected, it can cause the server to make requests on the client (you), which, if your browser has a security hole, can lead to your system being compromised. It doesn't happen a lot, but it CAN happen, no doubt about it.

Linux in general is only safer for two reasons:

1) You don't have root permissions by default (which in Windows, you do).
2) Linux has a very small market share, and so people don't bother writing viruses for it.

These two reasons keep linux secure. Once linux gains popularity, more viruses will be created to target linux users, and in this situation, we will become more reliant on anti-virus software and more security patches. You do NOT generally need a firewall with Ubuntu, since your computer is effectively invisible from the outside world.

[IYY]

1:
I hva been told that I dont need a defragmenter for Ubuntu Linux, cus etc3 fix this for you every 15 times you boot it. This is one of the goodies with Linux that I have told others about:
But look at this: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=169551


You can still defrag, but the advantages are so minimal that there is really no point of doing it (unlike Windows where it's pretty much mandatory.)

2:
Then I have been told(read) that Ubuntu Linux is more safe since you log in as a user, not as a super user. So if you got a virus or trojans, they cant install themselves in other places but the users space.
But you can read this regarding Mac witch has the same system; “this program could be silently installed to your User account and hooked to each application you use… and it doesn't require Administrator rights to do so.” Link; http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archi....html#00001030
So, if this can happened to Mac OS X, then I dont understand why it cant happened to Linux – both normally requires password/sudo to install something?

It can. I actually described a similar theoretical virus in a thread once, and it can't really be solved. If you download and install a program from a random place on the internet, you put your system at risk. However, with distributions like Ubuntu, you don't have to download programs from random places (in fact, I haven't done so in the past year.) The repositories contain almost all programs you will ever need, and include no malicious code.

3:
Then I have heard several times that I dont need any anti spyware/trojans programs under Linux, cus there aren't any. But I have a book about Ubuntu, witch has a guide on how to install anti spyware program for Linux, and recommended it.

Spyware and virus programs for Linux don't exist. However, this does not mean that they can't be created one day. The antivirus programs mentioned are designed to scan files you may send to Windows users, not for your own system.

4:
I have also heard that Linux needs less CPU then Windows, so shifting to Linux will be good since your applications can run faster. But I must say that I dont feel Ubuntu runs any faster then Windows XP when I am editing photos, writing in OOo and so on...

Open office is slower than Microsoft Office, especially because Microsoft Office is preloaded into memory. If you have less than 512 MB of RAM, you may see speed increases by switching to a lighter window manager like XFCE or even IceWM.

[Pjotr123]

Defragmentation:
this is a very instructive link:
http://geekblog.oneandoneis2.org/index.php/2006/08/17/why_doesn_t_linux_need_defragmenting

[Papa-san]

I go to school in a class of about sixty people. In that class, about 25 of them have laptops they bring. 16 of them use windows, 8 have Mac's, an I am the sole *nixer... I think that is a fair representation of the various market shares of laptops... (I know PC's have fewer mac's and way more windows boxes...)

P.S. -I have attached a screenshot of my desktop, which gets the mac users all flustered!