I Think I've Got One!

[Spike-X]

I talked myself into volunteering to fix a co-worker's computer. It's full of spyware and garbage, as is inevitable with Windows. I was telling him how Linux doesn't have any of those problems, so he said to me "Just put that on then!" I'm tempted to just wipe the whole thing clean (after first backing up his documents and files, of course), but I'll probably at least try and clean up Windows so he can dual-boot.

He's got a P4 2Ghz with 256 Mb RAM. Will regular Ubuntu run ok on that, or would I be better off installing Xubuntu?

Also, is there any way to get a Nokia mobile phone to work with Linux? He takes a lot of photos with it and likes to transfer them to the comp. If I could get that sorted for him, I probably wouldn't worry about trying to fix Windows. That's really all he does apart from surf the net.

[gn2]

I would suggest Xubuntu, it's simpler and faster although Ubuntu should be OK.

You can always remove the top panel and set the bottom one to look a bit more familiar, add a /home shortcut to the top of the Applications Menu and re-name it My Documents... :D

XPsp2 really struggles with less than 512mb RAM and if you leave XP on, it'll probably get used and the problems will begin all over again.

[PmDematagoda]

+1 on Xubuntu.

And considering the Nokia phone, I do believe that you could simply use the phone as a usual USB drive without much of a problem except that he may not be able to use that setup for special tasks such as connecting to the internet using the phone without first doing a little configuration.

[samjh]

Also, is there any way to get a Nokia mobile phone to work with Linux? He takes a lot of photos with it and likes to transfer them to the comp. If I could get that sorted for him, I probably wouldn't worry about trying to fix Windows. That's really all he does apart from surf the net.

I've got a Nokia N70 which doesn't work with Ubuntu at all. It's not even recognised as a device when I plug it in.

[n3tfury]

It's full of spyware and garbage, as is inevitable with Windows.

sorry, not true for everybody.

also, your thread title: you think you've got one what? a new user?

[escobar_]

Also, is there any way to get a Nokia mobile phone to work with Linux? He takes a lot of photos with it and likes to transfer them to the comp. If I could get that sorted for him, I probably wouldn't worry about trying to fix Windows. That's really all he does apart from surf the net.

Wouldn't an external memory card reader do the trick if he has a memory card in the phone? Then he'd just have to insert the card into the reader and transfer the pictures from the card.

[Nunu]

sorry, not true for everybody.

also, your thread title: you think you've got one what? a new user?

Not true man. At least 70 percent of the time that you are online you are susceptible to any form of malicious content of some form when using a MS based os. Remember that most AV companies employ people full time to search the internet for such code. The information only gets updated once a day for the rest of the time you are a sitting duck. Thats the main reason i went to Linux. if you want to be secure unplug your MS machine from the internet.

Trust me man...

Certified McAfee and Marshal software engineer.

[n3tfury]

Not true man. At least 70 percent of the time that you are online you are susceptible to any form of malicious content of some form when using a MS based os. Remember that most AV companies employ people full time to search the internet for such code. The information only gets updated once a day for the rest of the time you are a sitting duck. Thats the main reason i went to Linux. if you want to be secure unplug your MS machine from the internet.

Trust me man...

Certified McAfee and Marshal software engineer.

i've been using windows for over 8 years and continue to do so today. i got a virus once because of my own download stupidity. i don't have any problems, but then again, i surf and use the PC smarter than most on a windows box.

[Nunu]

i've been using windows for over 8 years and continue to do so today. i got a virus once because of my own download stupidity. i don't have any problems, but then again, i surf and use the PC smarter than most on a windows box.

Yeah of course if you brows safe you will be safer then most of the non security educated users out there. knowing that if you are going to try and download Software keys from some of the dangerous sites, you are going to get hit.

But if you are ready for a shocker... Download an application for your Windows machine called McAfee Site adviser. After that do a Google search and see how many of the sites considered to be safe are actually a carrier in some form.

http://us.mcafee.com/root/catalog.asp?catid=free

[ExpatPaul]

Also, is there any way to get a Nokia mobile phone to work with Linux? He takes a lot of photos with it and likes to transfer them to the comp. If I could get that sorted for him, I probably wouldn't worry about trying to fix Windows. That's really all he does apart from surf the net.

I've got a Nokia N72, which isn't recognised when IO plug it into Ubutu. However, I did find that these instructions (http://matallo.org/how-tos/nokia-6680-ubuntu-with-dku-2-usb-cable/) worked for me - both for retrieving photos and copying podcasts to the phone.

The only thing to be aware of is that if you use this method to retrieve photos, they are owned by Root. But a simple chown resolves this.

[Jimmey]

I recommend Xubuntu, too.



Also, is there any way to get a Nokia mobile phone to work with Linux?


Which Nokia phone is it?

For my Sony Erricson, I just plug the phone in, and it gets recognised as a memory card.




It's full of spyware and garbage, as is inevitable with Windows.
sorry, not true for everybody.

True in this case, probably.

If the machine has become infected to this point, it will probably become infected to this point again.

It's not the case for everybody, I'll admit.

[mozetti]

Not true man. At least 70 percent of the time that you are online you are susceptible to any form of malicious content of some form when using a MS based os. Remember that most AV companies employ people full time to search the internet for such code. The information only gets updated once a day for the rest of the time you are a sitting duck. Thats the main reason i went to Linux. if you want to be secure unplug your MS machine from the internet.

Trust me man...

Certified McAfee and Marshal software engineer.
*emphasis added by me*

Um, color me skeptical. I agree with n3tfury - if you use the right tools (A/V, anti-malware, firewall) and use the internet wisely then you haven't got to worry too much. You've got a vested interest in the hype, so I'll use my own experience with my browsing, and that of friends/family to make up my mind. As I said, it's not as dangerous out there as you're trying to make it seem.

To the OP Ubuntu (vanilla) should run fine on that machine - at least as well as XP did.

[n3tfury]

Yeah of course if you brows safe you will be safer then most of the non security educated users out there. knowing that if you are going to try and download Software keys from some of the dangerous sites, you are going to get hit.

But if you are ready for a shocker... Download an application for your Windows machine called McAfee Site adviser. After that do a Google search and see how many of the sites considered to be safe are actually a carrier in some form.

http://us.mcafee.com/root/catalog.asp?catid=free

i know they're out there, that's a given. that wasn't my point. my point was not EVERYONE is going to have box full of spyware/adware just because they run windows.

back on topic.

[PmDematagoda]

i know they're out there, that's a given. that wasn't my point. my point was not EVERYONE is going to have box full of spyware/adware just because they run windows.

back on topic.

I agree with nt3fury, while it is true that Windows is rather vulnerable to malware it does not necessarily mean that every installation of XP is infected. Provided that you have a good enough AV guard and is not sloppy with security you can make an installation of XP work properly for about a year.

As said, better get back to topic:).

[Nunu]

i know they're out there, that's a given. that wasn't my point. my point was not EVERYONE is going to have box full of spyware/adware just because they run windows.

back on topic.Agreed but what i am trying to say is that you don't need to go and visit dodgy sites to get infected. We actually had a issue in SA with a financial institution where the redirection to a log on page was hijacked, So the user would log on and give there information as per normal and in the back end a key logger was installed on the users machine. which recorded the information. Fortunately the Company detected this early enough and changed the security of there sites. All i am trying to say is you can be as safe as you want to be but these guys that create this software are going to be ahead of the security vendors at all times. The vendors are playing catchup not the disgruntled coders.

Agreed back to topic.

[mridkash]

Ubuntu live cd requires 320 mb RAM minimum.

Try the alternate CD for install. Or upgrade the PC.

Let him try out Ubuntu before installing it on the PC.

[K.Mandla]

For a 2Ghz machine, Ubuntu should run fine. Xubuntu will be ... bluer.

[PmDematagoda]

Ubuntu may run fine on the 2Ghz processer K.Mandla, but it may not do so very well when the 256Mb of RAM is concerned especially if you want to use the OS quite heavily.

I installed Xubuntu 7.04 on a 2Ghz Celeron processor with 256Mb of RAM and it works like a charm, and it only uses about 121Mb of RAM when used normally and about 36Mb of the 1Gb I allocated to it:), it even has a rather "heavy" theme.

[forrestcupp]

Why did anyone even make a 2 GHz machine with only 256 MB of RAM?

First of all, talk him into buying a little bit of cheap RAM that he desperately needs. If not, install Xubuntu, but make sure he fully understands what you're getting him into before you do it. He might be upset when he finds out that he can't run all of his programs on it. He might not even know what Linux is. To him, Linux might be some Windows app that makes his XP safer.

MAKE SURE he understands before you do it.

About the whole virus/malware/spyware on Windows thing. I use Windows Vista and I haven't used any anti-virus software for a very long time (even back on XP). I do everything on the internet. Everything from posting on these forums to managing all of my bills and finances. I never have any trouble. From time to time I do scans and it never turns up anything major. If you are mindful of what you are doing, you are not very likely of having something happen. Of course companies like McAffee and Norton are going to make software that scares you into buying more of their software. It's all a bunch of FUD unless you don't pay attention to what you are doing. Then you just deserve it.

[K.Mandla]

Ubuntu may run fine on the 2Ghz processer K.Mandla, but it may not do so very well when the 256Mb of RAM is concerned especially if you want to use the OS quite heavily.
You're right; I'm sorry. I glazed over the memory amount. Thanks for the correction. ;)

[PmDematagoda]

You're right; I'm sorry. I glazed over the memory amount. Thanks for the correction. ;)

No problem K.Mandla:). I feel like I already made a mistake when I left out 1Gb of Swap space for Xubuntu when the maximum it ever took was only about 50Mb:D.

[ice60]

Remember that most AV companies employ people full time to search the internet for such code. The information only gets updated once a day for the rest of the time you are a sitting duck.

Trust me man...

Certified McAfee and Marshal software engineer.

LOL, you are talking out your a$$. you are not an AV expert are you?

[gn2]

Why did anyone even make a 2 GHz machine with only 256 MB of RAM?


In the days before XP, 256mb RAM was plenty.

W2kPro runs fine on half that, and Windows 98se worked OK(ish) with 64mb.

When XP started shipping 128mb RAM was quite common, 256 was a step up and if you had 512 you were top of the line.

My first PC had 16mb !

[-grubby]

In the days before XP, 256mb RAM was plenty.

W2kPro runs fine on half that, and Windows 98se worked OK(ish) with 64mb.

When XP started shipping 128mb RAM was quite common, 256 was a step up and if you had 512 you were top of the line.

My first PC had 16mb !

I have an old PC and an XP disk with no service packs. the old PC I have has 128MB of RAM and (when) it ran XP, XP survived on 128MB

[teet]

Unless he really knows what he's getting, I would say stick with XP. This guy doesn't sound like a computer whiz...he just wants it to work. Give him firefox, install an antivirus, and run windows update. I honestly think you'll be saving yourself a lot of grief.

-teet

[forrestcupp]

In the days before XP, 256mb RAM was plenty.

W2kPro runs fine on half that, and Windows 98se worked OK(ish) with 64mb.

When XP started shipping 128mb RAM was quite common, 256 was a step up and if you had 512 you were top of the line.

My first PC had 16mb !

I realize that. I used to use a Commodore 64 that had 64 KB of RAM. But in the days before XP, 2 GHz processors weren't very common either.

[gn2]

in the days before XP, 2 GHz processors weren't very common either.

Indeed, however post launch of XP 2ghz Celerons were primarily used for office/business PC's which had no need of more than 256mb to be productive.

Anyway it's academic because today a 2ghz Celeron with 256mb RAM will fly using Xubuntu. :)