Advantages and disadvantages of changing to Ubuntu?

[JAC]

@phenomlab Great points! I was thinking of switching if my laptop gets a little more laggier with Windows.

[phenomlab]

@jac What machine specs do you have ?

[JAC]

@phenomlab Lenovo Ideapad, 8GB of RAM, 256GB storage, probably why it’s slowing down a little

[phenomlab]

@jac Not at all. That 256Gb storage is likely to be SSD, so it won’t be the disk type. 8Gb is a little “conservative” on Windows - do you know what the processor is ?

[JAC]

It’s no longer available from where I purchased it from, but I’ve managed to find it - https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/8035410483.

[phenomlab]

@jac that’s more than capable of running Ubuntu

[JAC]

@phenomlab Absolutely, don’t get me wrong I like Windows for what it does and the fact the majority of people use it, but I love the simplicity of Ubuntu

[phenomlab]

@jac yes, same here. However, my go-to system these days is KDE Neon.

[phenomlab]

I expect another reason why people stick with Windows is familiarity, and a general reluctance to reinvent the wheel and learn something new. Admittedly, I approached the change with some trepidation having been a Windows user since the 90s (yeah, I’m that old), but once I’d climbed the fence into the opposing field, I never looked back.

Sure, Windows is pretty, but that should not be the sole reason for keeping it ️

[JAC]

@phenomlab Totally agree, for me Windows does what it says on the tin as in it’s popular and works, but there’s something about Ubuntu that just makes me weirdly feel more secure using it.

[phenomlab]

@jac yeah - it’s not Windows !

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Advantages and disadvantages of changing to Ubuntu?:

@jac yeah - it’s not Windows !

There is that yes although for me it’s even down to the general feel of it and the apps it’s a different experience I suppose one you’ll only get if you want to change OS.

[phenomlab]

@jac the real issue here is the sheer amount of machines in homes and businesses that all use Windows as their primary operating system. The dominance of Windows alone means there are still huge numbers of people who use it because they are familiar with it’s interface and how it operates.

Sadly, hackers are all too aware of this also, and as a result of that, it remains the number one target in terms of newly discovered vulnerabilities.

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Advantages and disadvantages of changing to Ubuntu?:

Sadly, hackers are all too aware of this also, and as a result of that, it remains the number one target in terms of newly discovered vulnerabilities.

That leads me on to a question you’ll know …

Obviously talking a few days ago about changing antivirus to BitDefender on Windows, having used Ubuntu a fair few times over the years I always remember there was no real need for antivirus, is this still the case?

[phenomlab]

@jac said in Advantages and disadvantages of changing to Ubuntu?:

there was no real need for antivirus, is this still the case?

Not any more sadly. Given the rise in popularity of Linux and Mac, there are new types of malware designed to target these systems. Based on this, the possibility of a compromised system exists, but is by far less (actually by miles) likely than it works be under Windows. Remember that best practice is 80% of protection, and by using products designed to prevent ads, a VPN etc, this this risk is further negated.

Not entirely eliminated, but heavily reduced.

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Advantages and disadvantages of changing to Ubuntu?:

@jac said in Advantages and disadvantages of changing to Ubuntu?:

there was no real need for antivirus, is this still the case?

Not any more sadly. Given the rise in popularity of Linux and Mac, there are new types of malware designed to target these systems. Based on this, the possibility of a compromised system exists, but is by far less (actually by miles) likely than it works be under Windows. Remember that best practice is 80% of protection, and by using products designed to prevent ads, a VPN etc, this this risk is further negated.

Not entirely eliminated, but heavily reduced.

Thanks for the advice Mark, so what sort of antivirus is compatible with Ubuntu?

[phenomlab]

@jac This link provides all the detail you need

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Advantages and disadvantages of changing to Ubuntu?:

@jac This link provides all the detail you need

Many thanks, will take a look and feed back.

[JAC]

@phenomlab There’s a few options to choose then if I and when I did decide to switch . I’ll most likely wait until it slows down a little / buy a new one and run Ubuntu on the old one .

[phenomlab]

@jac Yes, that’s the traditional path - you get much more life out of the machine that way. Do check to see if the disk is in fact SSD though first - I’d be surprised if it isn’t given today’s standards, but you never know…