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Tech Nerds - Am I Right Here or Not?


cyaxrex

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I may be about to do the unthinkable and transition from Linux to Windows.

My laptop is in its death throes. It’s not a software problem. It’s a ■■■ ash and spilled coffee problem. I can fix it. However, that means dismantling the thing, potentially messing up, and being left with no way to Fiverr.

I do have a backup laptop. However, I had forgotten how old it is. Even with Linux it’s slow. How I ever used it, I don’t know. In this case, I’ve scored a sweet deal on eBay and got a pretty much unused Surface Pro 2 tablet for $100. I’ve owned one of these before. It is more than capable of being my daily driver when hooked up to a monitor and keyboard.

My problem is Windows. I hate it. I do love MS Office. However, I hate how vulnerable Windows is to viruses. Now, I also own a Surface RT tablet which is immune to viruses by default, because it is impossible to run regular programs on it. In this case, I’ve had a genius idea.

My plan is to configure my (Windows 8.1) new Surface 2, to only run specific apps. Literally, nothing will be executable but Word, my video software, and a web browser. I’ll also use a user account and not an administrator account.

I am definitely not splashing out on an anti-virus, as I probably won’t use this machine full-time for very long. In this case, will my lock-down strategy be enough to keep my machine secure? Or am I overlooking something?

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I may be about to do the unthinkable and transition from Linux to Windows.

My laptop is in its death throes. It’s not a software problem. It’s a ■■■ ash and spilled coffee problem. I can fix it. However, that means dismantling the thing, potentially messing up, and being left with no way to Fiverr.

I do have a backup laptop. However, I had forgotten how old it is. Even with Linux it’s slow. How I ever used it, I don’t know. In this case, I’ve scored a sweet deal on eBay and got a pretty much unused Surface Pro 2 tablet for $100. I’ve owned one of these before. It is more than capable of being my daily driver when hooked up to a monitor and keyboard.

My problem is Windows. I hate it. I do love MS Office. However, I hate how vulnerable Windows is to viruses. Now, I also own a Surface RT tablet which is immune to viruses by default, because it is impossible to run regular programs on it. In this case, I’ve had a genius idea.

My plan is to configure my (Windows 8.1) new Surface 2, to only run specific apps. Literally, nothing will be executable but Word, my video software, and a web browser. I’ll also use a user account and not an administrator account.

I am definitely not splashing out on an anti-virus, as I probably won’t use this machine full-time for very long. In this case, will my lock-down strategy be enough to keep my machine secure? Or am I overlooking something?

It’s a ■■■ ash and spilled coffee problem.

Third word: Cigarette 3 letters :thinking:

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Yeah, I’m using Windows 8.1. In this case, I’ll have none of the Tom foolery of updates going on without my say so. I’m also of the opinion that Windows uses updates to brick older hardware. My new Surface was running fine out of the box, then I installed an important firmware update and it was bye bye wifi and keyboard.

The only way I have got back up and running is my trawling through the XDA Win 8 forums.

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It’s a ■■■ ash and spilled coffee problem.

Third word: Cigarette 3 letters :thinking:

Third word: Cigarette 3 letters :thinking:

What is wrong with saying the F word? I’m from a northern English derelict mining town. We had TEA instead of dinner in the evening, and when times were hard we had:

maxresdefault.thumb.jpg.164c33ecfaf1aa731b3d6a6776f17b63.jpg

for supper.

I wish the language police would nick off.

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I’ve never had a virus or malware on my Windows 8.1 six year old laptop, turned on 24 hours day 7 days a week the entire time. I use free Windows Defender. I have never installed Windows updates. Updates definitely kills computers.

My main problem with Windows 10 is how it forces you to install the updates. There doesn’t seem to be any way to stop it.

I install Classic Shell on my computers to have the old style left hand menu instead of the tiles on the desktop, which I can’t deal with.

The area where the battery is located is down on the left lower corner and that area is lifted up in a lump next to the trackpad, so I’m wondering why that would be, swollen internal battery? but the laptop still works perfectly.

I also have a new Windows 10 laptop I love, 15 inch Alienware, my old laptop is a 13 inch one. I keep it on a fan since it does get very hot.

edit: actually I did have malware on the 13 inch one when I first got it. It was ransomware and it took me 2 days to get rid of it with a rollback of the system. That was nasty.

I had a little cheap 12 inch Windows computer I used as a web server for a while without any viruses. It was under constant attacks too of all kinds since hackers could see the port sitting open. The router blocked them.

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I’ve never had a virus or malware on my Windows 8.1 six year old laptop, turned on 24 hours day 7 days a week the entire time. I use free Windows Defender. I have never installed Windows updates. Updates definitely kills computers.

My main problem with Windows 10 is how it forces you to install the updates. There doesn’t seem to be any way to stop it.

I install Classic Shell on my computers to have the old style left hand menu instead of the tiles on the desktop, which I can’t deal with.

The area where the battery is located is down on the left lower corner and that area is lifted up in a lump next to the trackpad, so I’m wondering why that would be, swollen internal battery? but the laptop still works perfectly.

I also have a new Windows 10 laptop I love, 15 inch Alienware, my old laptop is a 13 inch one. I keep it on a fan since it does get very hot.

edit: actually I did have malware on the 13 inch one when I first got it. It was ransomware and it took me 2 days to get rid of it with a rollback of the system. That was nasty.

I had a little cheap 12 inch Windows computer I used as a web server for a while without any viruses. It was under constant attacks too of all kinds since hackers could see the port sitting open. The router blocked them.

I’ve never had a virus or malware on my Windows 8.1 six year old laptop, turned on 24 hours day 7 days a week the entire time. I use free Windows Defender.

This is good to know. I would like to trust Windows Defender, as I consider all antivirus programs scams. You can install an antivirus on a new system and they will find problems. Funnily enough, all your problems are only solved when you buy every add-on possible.

I would like to save for a new laptop and so may use my new machine for a long period.

The area where the battery is located is down on the left lower corner and that area is lifted up in a lump next to the trackpad,

You might want to watch that. I had a phone battery explode in my pocket once. I was kayaking, forgot I had my phone, and suddenly felt this warm feeling on my thigh. I took out my phone from my pocket. It was bulging and then exploded in my hand spewing gas everywhere.

Thay was an extreme case, but when batteries bulge, they can explode.

I also have a new Windows 10 laptop I love, 15 inch Alienware, my old laptop is a 13 inch one. I keep it on a fan since it does get very hot.

I can’t use Windows 10. I read the license agreement. 😦 I would like an Alienware laptop though!

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I’ve never had a virus or malware on my Windows 8.1 six year old laptop, turned on 24 hours day 7 days a week the entire time. I use free Windows Defender.

This is good to know. I would like to trust Windows Defender, as I consider all antivirus programs scams. You can install an antivirus on a new system and they will find problems. Funnily enough, all your problems are only solved when you buy every add-on possible.

I would like to save for a new laptop and so may use my new machine for a long period.

The area where the battery is located is down on the left lower corner and that area is lifted up in a lump next to the trackpad,

You might want to watch that. I had a phone battery explode in my pocket once. I was kayaking, forgot I had my phone, and suddenly felt this warm feeling on my thigh. I took out my phone from my pocket. It was bulging and then exploded in my hand spewing gas everywhere.

Thay was an extreme case, but when batteries bulge, they can explode.

I also have a new Windows 10 laptop I love, 15 inch Alienware, my old laptop is a 13 inch one. I keep it on a fan since it does get very hot.

I can’t use Windows 10. I read the license agreement. 😦 I would like an Alienware laptop though!

The three Alienwares I’ve had have been bulletproof and a sheer joy to use. The only downsides are they are heavy and they get hot but they are beasts.

To change the battery I would need to completely disassemble every part of the laptop. I’m not sure I could get it put together again. I’m surprised it still works and the clock is accurate. I would never take a computer anyplace for a repair.

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I don’t mind Windows 10 as long as I can have classic shell on it to get rid of the tiles but being forced to get the updates is bad. If I could remember to set it once a month to delay the installs of them that might work but that takes a lot of discipline. There should be software that does that automatically.

If someone could make software to do that they would get rich. It doesn’t seem like it would be that hard to do. It’s possible to block the installs by setting a delay in the installs once a month. You can set it for 30 days at a time.

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Have you ever thought of a Chromebook? For things that just require a browser and not super high processing, they are great. They run super fast and they are super safe.

Have you ever thought of a Chromebook?

No. I hate Google Docs. I don’t even like Google Drive TBH. As much as I loath Windows, I do already use OneDrive on Linux and MS Office online for most of my writing work. This is why I’ve opted for a Windows machine stand in.

I also need to run heavy duty apps like Blender for video editing which need a more fully fledged desktop OS. Neither am I that sold on the safety of Google. I can guarantee that the second I research an article on teacup pigs, I’ll have some Gmail spam offering me the best rates on teacup piglets. You are secure on Google products, but your privacy certainly isn’t.

Of course, Microsoft is no better. However, they do give you more ways to be private if you want to be.

As someone that’s used Windows, MacOS, and Linux I recommend you just get a new laptop and install Linux on it. Windows 10 can be freaking annoying like increidbly annoying.

I bought this tablet because it has Windows 8.1, not Win10. I also look at the specs for everything. If I was to buy a new laptop on a budget I wouldn’t get nearly the same performance as I would out of an older (for its time) high-end machine.

I can install Linux on the Surface Pro 2. I did that with my last one. However, lots of things didn’t work an when I tried to revert to Windows, I bricked the thing. This is why I’m not this time.

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Have you ever thought of a Chromebook?

No. I hate Google Docs. I don’t even like Google Drive TBH. As much as I loath Windows, I do already use OneDrive on Linux and MS Office online for most of my writing work. This is why I’ve opted for a Windows machine stand in.

I also need to run heavy duty apps like Blender for video editing which need a more fully fledged desktop OS. Neither am I that sold on the safety of Google. I can guarantee that the second I research an article on teacup pigs, I’ll have some Gmail spam offering me the best rates on teacup piglets. You are secure on Google products, but your privacy certainly isn’t.

Of course, Microsoft is no better. However, they do give you more ways to be private if you want to be.

As someone that’s used Windows, MacOS, and Linux I recommend you just get a new laptop and install Linux on it. Windows 10 can be freaking annoying like increidbly annoying.

I bought this tablet because it has Windows 8.1, not Win10. I also look at the specs for everything. If I was to buy a new laptop on a budget I wouldn’t get nearly the same performance as I would out of an older (for its time) high-end machine.

I can install Linux on the Surface Pro 2. I did that with my last one. However, lots of things didn’t work an when I tried to revert to Windows, I bricked the thing. This is why I’m not this time.

Ah so wouldn’t be a good for for you. What a pain! I’m a Mac person. No viruses yay!

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Have you ever thought of a Chromebook?

No. I hate Google Docs. I don’t even like Google Drive TBH. As much as I loath Windows, I do already use OneDrive on Linux and MS Office online for most of my writing work. This is why I’ve opted for a Windows machine stand in.

I also need to run heavy duty apps like Blender for video editing which need a more fully fledged desktop OS. Neither am I that sold on the safety of Google. I can guarantee that the second I research an article on teacup pigs, I’ll have some Gmail spam offering me the best rates on teacup piglets. You are secure on Google products, but your privacy certainly isn’t.

Of course, Microsoft is no better. However, they do give you more ways to be private if you want to be.

As someone that’s used Windows, MacOS, and Linux I recommend you just get a new laptop and install Linux on it. Windows 10 can be freaking annoying like increidbly annoying.

I bought this tablet because it has Windows 8.1, not Win10. I also look at the specs for everything. If I was to buy a new laptop on a budget I wouldn’t get nearly the same performance as I would out of an older (for its time) high-end machine.

I can install Linux on the Surface Pro 2. I did that with my last one. However, lots of things didn’t work an when I tried to revert to Windows, I bricked the thing. This is why I’m not this time.

I research an article on teacup pigs, I’ll have some Gmail spam offering me the best rates on teacup piglets.

If I look at anything on any website that sells things I get adverts for it for weeks on the margins of websites.

I dislike how my Windows 10 laptop knows when I move my eyes in it’s direction and brightens the screen, then dims it when I move my eyes off it. 👁️ I now make sure I’m fully clothed at all times when I’m in the room with it.

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I research an article on teacup pigs, I’ll have some Gmail spam offering me the best rates on teacup piglets.

If I look at anything on any website that sells things I get adverts for it for weeks on the margins of websites.

I dislike how my Windows 10 laptop knows when I move my eyes in it’s direction and brightens the screen, then dims it when I move my eyes off it. 👁️ I now make sure I’m fully clothed at all times when I’m in the room with it.

I dislike how my Windows 10 laptop knows when I move my eyes in it’s direction and brightens the screen, then dims it when I move my eyes off it.

My bodyguard would have shot that by now.

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I may be about to do the unthinkable and transition from Linux to Windows.

My laptop is in its death throes. It’s not a software problem. It’s a ■■■ ash and spilled coffee problem. I can fix it. However, that means dismantling the thing, potentially messing up, and being left with no way to Fiverr.

I do have a backup laptop. However, I had forgotten how old it is. Even with Linux it’s slow. How I ever used it, I don’t know. In this case, I’ve scored a sweet deal on eBay and got a pretty much unused Surface Pro 2 tablet for $100. I’ve owned one of these before. It is more than capable of being my daily driver when hooked up to a monitor and keyboard.

My problem is Windows. I hate it. I do love MS Office. However, I hate how vulnerable Windows is to viruses. Now, I also own a Surface RT tablet which is immune to viruses by default, because it is impossible to run regular programs on it. In this case, I’ve had a genius idea.

My plan is to configure my (Windows 8.1) new Surface 2, to only run specific apps. Literally, nothing will be executable but Word, my video software, and a web browser. I’ll also use a user account and not an administrator account.

I am definitely not splashing out on an anti-virus, as I probably won’t use this machine full-time for very long. In this case, will my lock-down strategy be enough to keep my machine secure? Or am I overlooking something?

Or am I overlooking something?

The risk is now actually higher with 8.1, Windows 10 is currently stable, less vulnerable and quite faster. The antivirus is integrated and self updating, it works well. There may be problems with some old hardware (graphic or audio cards), but not on a Microsoft machine (or a plain Intel machine). I am a Linux guy too and I use Ubuntu on a regular basis. If your backup laptop is slow you could consider to change the disk and install a solid state unit. The old advice “use xubuntu or lubuntu” aged badly, because in practice they are rather unrefined. An SSD is way faster and the smaller ones are now cheap.

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