This is the fourth and (intended) final article in a series on Windows XP security. The first three focused on cleaning malware, preventing malware with software and preventing malware with defensive computing habits. This article will identify how to prevent operating system level malware by switching operating systems.
There are a lot of reasons why Windows in all its versions, has the predominant market share in desktop computing. Discussion of those reasons would branch into the depths of marketing practices and technical merits. Without going there, I'd submit that at the end of the day it is due to preloading. Virtually every retail PC sold has Windows preloaded. Not many consumers will take time to research alternatives, learn new skills, potentially spend additional dollars - when they have something that works. As long as it works for you, I agree. For those that find it not working, at whatever threshold that is for you, continue reading.
For the vast majority of home users, at least those that I deal with that don't make their living in some form of technical field, it doesn't matter what they're running. Any device that allows web surfing, web mail, plays video and handles file attachments (documents and spreadsheets) will do just fine. With that market segment in mind, major PC manufacturers have started offering alternatives such as Dell does with Ubuntu (a distribution of Linux), often at reduced fees - because most all distributions of Linux are free.
The good news is that PC owners don't have to buy a new system to try a new operating system. It can be downloaded for free, tried without any risk or changes to the current operating system, then installed in a variety of co-existent or replacement modes. All at your own pace and comfort level.
Many choices exist for free and open source operating systems. Most will be some base form of Linux assembled into a bundle of applications called a distribution. The selection of which distribution is "best" or "right" is subjective, however all will offer security advantages over *a default* Windows XP installation. This is primarily because Linux distributions, like all Unix variants, are designed to work with the principle of "least privilege". Users do not run as system adminstrators. If elevated level of access is required, the user is prompted for their password, the task is completed then the default level of privilege is restored. All applications will run within this security model without additional steps. As described in earlier articles, it can be implemented in Windows XP, but not all applications will run seamlessly with this change. There have been modifications to the architecture of later versions of Windows, but this series focuses on XP.
For the majority of Windows users looking for alternatives, I believe Linux Mint will make for an extremely smooth transition. Linux purists will howl at this statement, but it is the most "Windows like" right out of the box. What it means to the "average" PC user is that it provides full multimedia support without any extra effort, meaning that you can listen to MP3's watch DVD's and view web pages that require Flash technology right after install. Wireless internet connectivity and printing will work seamlessly as well.
As many Linux distributions do, Linux Mint combines both the installation CD with a Live CD that will run the full operating system straight from the CD, without modifying the hard drive. Download the "Live CD, 32 bit, The standard version" from http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php The filetype of .iso you've downloaded is a CD image, meaning it must be opened by a CD burning program that can use it to make a CD. This is different than simply burning a file to CD. If you need a CD burning program for Windows, a good free one is CDBurnerXP from http://cdburnerxp.se/ The same site describes how to burn an ISO image to CD at http://cdburnerxp.se/help/Data/burn-iso
Boot from the CD for a couple of sessions and see how things work. Recognize that the boot from the CD will be much slower than from an operating system installed to the hard drive because of the orders of magnitude speed difference in the two different disk technologies. When you're ready to install to the hard drive, for the speed improvement and ability to save your customizations - backup your data! Then you have several options: installing under windows as any other application; installing in dual boot mode; completely replacing Windows XP as the sole operating system on the hard drive. There are advantages to each. Booted from the CD, selecting the Install icon on the Desktop and installing in dual boot mode may be the most comfortable choice for those starting out.
Additional information is available in the excellent Introduction to Linux Mint document, the Ubuntu (on which Mint is based) community documentation and many sites with guides to getting started using Linux for persons whose only experience is Windows. If you want a system that runs clean and fast - and stays that way - it may be worth your time do do a little reading. Don't be afraid to experiment either, with computers it can be the best way to learn.
In this series, I've attempted to cover the short course on tools and techniques I use when pressed into service to assist someone with a malware problem on Windows XP. The articles have covered cleanup, two types of prevention and my recommended alternative to almost everyone (especially anyone I've helped more than once). There are other similar articles around, written for there own purposes. This series provides the answer for when I'm asked "what would you do?".
Now you know. Enjoy.
Edited 2010.10.04 - Added Ubuntu community documentation reference.
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