Please, please, try to be honnest. You're anonymous so it

>>55988903
Whats "safe" precious

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>>55988903
>is it possible to have at least a decent, safe work environment with the latest Windows version?

No. Windows is a giant security risk and a fundamentally flawed OS. It is only used by novice computer users, gamers, or autistic power users who are incapable of moving on from the first operating system they learned how to use as a child.

>please don't judge and try to think like your only option is Windows

Kek. Install linux, or buy a mac if you suck at pooter. There is no genuine excuse for using windows, other than vidya.

>>55988919
idk you tell me..."Linux" is supposed to have a few advantages over Windows and one of them is this "safe" aura. (better security? less prone to be hacked or targeted in general since it's not as popular as Windows?)

>>55988903
>Is it possible to make Windows as "safe" as Linux
Windows is the most popular desktop OS and it has, and will have the most vulnerabilities. The only safe windows is disconnected windows (inside a VM with no network)

>>55988951
Are you implying using a Max is better than using a Win PC?
Also, I'm actually playing video games every day. Please don't judge, it's like me judging you playing football if I can't stand watching or playing football.
Anyways, if I'm what you consider a gamer, should I just keep using Windows?

>>55988972
Linux with GPU passthrough. Congratulations, now you can play video games and not give up your privacy.

>>55988958
The gnu linux advantage is the 4 freedoms. Tell em rms sent ya

>>55988970
Ok, thanks.
Now a question. I've been using Windows since 95 I think. Always used the normalfag tools for security. AV, antimalware, VPN, etc.
Never had any problems.
What am I missing the, how is Windows vulnerable?
I'm guessing vulnerable is pertinent only for people downloading and excuting anything without thinking about where they get it from?
Or maybe people that would be more serious security type like hacker? Then maybe they would be at a disadvantage facing other instrusive people?
But what I mean is, for a "normal" user taking basic precautions, is Windows that bad?

>>55988972
You asked about work environment. Gaming on windows is fine, its the only thing the OS should be used for DESU

>>55988972
Depends what games. Steam will tell you if they are available on linux or not. Otherwise you can check appdb.winehq.org to see non-native compatability. You can probably get away with dual-booting.

No but don't install Java (last time i got a virus was through a java exploit on a win xp netbook), or adobe flash. Run malwarebytes every so often

>>55989019
Yeah I know. Problem is most games I play are not even usable on nux.

>>55989013
Whats "normal" precious

>>55989003
I would recommend that as well, I am currently in the process of doing that as well. However it might be a bit of an undertaking for a regular user without much linux experience, let alone the need to invest in extra hardware.

>>55989040
What's "precious", precious?
What's a question mark, precious?

>>55989041
>>55989003
I'll be looking into that. Thanks for the advice.

>>55988903
Is it theoretically possible to make Windows 10 respect your privacy? Theoretically yes, practically no. It's not like you can just stick the telemetry server in the hosts file and tell it to go to 127.0.0.1. You can, but the OS will go around the hosts file for communicating with the mothership. The OS is fighting you on this, which means what you have to do is block it's communication with Microsoft at the router. Which means maintaining a list of MS IPs and/or hostnames and probably inspecting traffic Windows 10 tries to send and determining what is suspicious and what is not. This also means that you block all updating, including not just the botnet that you don't want but the security updates you do, since they're no longer separated. And your task is only going to keep getting harder and harder - you've seen where the wind is blowing. MS's goal for 10 is to collect information on you and make the OS into a rolling-release thing where you take what the current version is and don't get a choice in the matter.

This is an awfully high price to pay just for DX12. The only real solution here is to not run Windows at all. Install Gentoo.

OP again. Let's admit that I downgrade to Win7 (or any other better Win version?)
Will I still be able to play muh games in the future?

https://www.safer-networking.org/spybot-anti-beacon

>>55989171
Yes. Games supported DX9 for over ten years after XP was released, many still do, so they are likely to continue to run on 7 for at least another five years, and another ten isn't farfetched.

7 leaves security support in 2020, so eventually you're going to need to think about relegating it to a VM and using PCI passthrough so as to isolate it, maintaining a separate non-internet-connected Windows machine for gaming only, or just running Linux and using Wine.

>>55989171
>>55979294

>>55989171
Unfortunately, more games in the future are going to support a newer graphics layer known as DirectX12, which is only supported by Windows 10. Windows 7 supports DirectX11, which is quickly becoming outdated...

However if you chose to play games off of Volkan, another brand new grafics layer, this wouldn't even be a problem (even if you were playing on Linux).

>>55989295
^me
>>55989215
^This anon knows his shit more than I do, listen to him.

>>55988903
>Is it possible to make Windows as "safe" as Linux
Yes, it is.

>If not, is it possible to have at least a decent, safe work environment with the latest Windows version?
Yes, it is.

>what would you do to make it safe?
Just pull the internet plug and BAM - you have a safe and secure OS.

>>55989316
that's only true if your definition of safety does not include privacy. Or if you define safe as being safe from having the OS provider force something on you that you don't want.

>>55989350
Why wouldn't it include privacy? No one can spy on you if you don't have an external connection.

>privacy

Doesn't >>55989196
fix that?

>>55989373
I read your post as "plug in the internet" instead of "pull the internet plug"

>>55989373
Not him but I guess there's a difference between wanting privacy, and hiding from the world because you're scared of not having ANY privacy.

>Fill computer with cement
>Throw computer in lake
"Now my data is safe"

>>55989421
Moral : your computer will never be safe from people who really want to do harm, just install whatever the fuck you want
amirite

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>>55988903
>If not, is it possible to have at least a decent, safe work environment with the latest Windows version?
Create two accounts, an administrator and a limited user. Add a password to the administrator account (and limited one if you like). Do most of your work on the limited user, then when you need access to system files or settings, authenticate using the administrator account password.

Also, set User Account Control to the highest setting (like Vista days). This is absolutely necessary, as malware can bypass it if you leave it at the default setting. More annoyance vs. security, your choice.

Consider setting up your Windows Firewall to only allow programs you specify to access the internet. TinyWall is a decent software that automates this, and has a "autolearn" feature to whitelist any programs accessing the internet so you don't have to add them manually.

If you're extra paranoid of malware, you could probably set up some group policy settings to block executables from running in the appdata folders. Really though, just don't be a retard while web browsing. Disable/click to activate flash and java plugins.

You can thank me later for being a genuine post and not one of these linux trolls.

>>55989461
Use whatever gets you through the day. For me and many others thats linux, but I'm gonna get off telling you how to live your life.

>>55989485
Thanks for the effort. I like you.

>>55989485
Running as a limited user does indeed stop a large percentage of garden variety bad things. There certainly are escalation-of-privilege exploits for Windows though.

Also this won't protect his privacy from Microsoft.

>>55989566
>>Also this won't protect his privacy from Microsoft.
What about going back to Win8 or 7?

Also what are things like Spybot antibeacon doing, is it just placebo then?

>>55989577
Isn't Spybot Antibeacon pretty legitimate? It's by a well-respected company.

>>55989566
>Also this won't protect his privacy from Microsoft.
OP didn't ask about privacy. He asked about being hacked/targeted by malware, which is definitely possible to avoid on Windows and harden security against. I doubt Microsoft is gonna deploy encrypting ransomware on all their customer's machines, so in this regard he could trust them.

If privacy is your concern, just switching to Linux won't help. Your ISP will be snooping you as well, if you live in the USA at least.

>>55989660
>He asked about being hacked/targeted by malware
But windows itself is a malware and does exactly what malware normally does.

>>55989660
I don't live in the US.
I live somewhere in Europe.
But I'm guessing this is the same, at some point, for some cases, your ISP might be snitching on you or whatever...
So I'm guessing unless you're really into security or/and acting like a terrorist in everyday life, there's no real point in trying to hide anything because in the end it'll always end up being known?

>>55988903
What do you mean by safe? Are you asking about privacy? You need to distinguish between first-party and third-party malware, because a lot of people would say MS malware is 'safe'.

>>55989723
Safe for me = no or minimal risk of having your informations and security compromised.
No risks for your computer and your personal datas in general.

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Microsoft™ uses telemetry and tracking/statistics to ultimately help improve the user experience.
Also to further diversify revenue.

Windows™ 10 has more security, support and privacy than all other operating systems right now.

>>55989721
The difference is in "known by whom?".

Your ISP stores your logs for a fixed amount of times and presents them on court order.

Microsoft collects everything about you and sells it to the highest bidder. Also it detects pirated software on your system and don't be surprised if you get arrested for piracy sometime in the future.
Or if your are from a country like UK or Straya, you may be arrested for downloading porn, since it's illegal in these countries.

>>55989171

Developers will be developing for Vulkan over DX12 in the future, so yes probably

>>55989721
NSA is probably spying on you anyway.

>5 Eyes: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand
>9 Eyes: the Five Eyes, with the addition of Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Norway
>14 Eyes: the 9 Eyes, with the addition of Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Sweden

>>55989752
The only way you're gonna be "safe" from PRISM is by moving to Russia like Snowden. Your data is probably already in a big database somewhere, especially if you use social media. The question is, does it matter to you? I don't think your normie friends know or care what you do on your computer.

>>55989777
>Microsoft collects everything about you and sells it to the highest bidder. Also it detects pirated software on your system and don't be surprised if you get arrested for piracy sometime in the future.
[citation needed]

>>55988958
Every GNU/Linux distro comes with no active firewall. You are pretty much fucked up already when you plug an ethernet cord to download your "bays sysstehm".

>>55989808
Don't you have a street to poo on, Satja?

>>55989828
niec meme with no evidence

witnessed

>>55989836
No one in their right mind would defend microsoft. Unless they are getting paid to do so. Not even the people, who like windows in general. So you a paid hindu shill.

NO, STOP FUCKING ASKING

>>55989850
Why are so many people installing Windows and not Linux then?

>>55989789
>The question is, does it matter to you?
The question is, how can my data be used?
To sell me more products related to what I already looked for?
If it's just that, then it's not that much of a drama to me.
Sure, I'd like my lfe to stay as private as possible, and I understand how important privacy could become in an eventual dystiopian future, but I don't think we're going there either, and unless I'm an activist of some sort, I don't have anything serious to fear if my personal datas are being used just for publicity or whatever.

>>55989850
Literally provide proof Microsoft has done any of those things you said.

>you can't

>>55989812
>firewall
You do realize that GNU/Linux distributions don't open ports by default, right? It's up to you to not run software that opens ports without a firewall.

>>55989865
Maybe because the windows forced them to update or updated itself while they were out to get a drink?

>>55989777
>Your ISP stores your logs for a fixed amount of times and presents them on court order.
many would roll over on any request
>Also it detects pirated software
still hasnt detected Project CARS, and ive had both legit paid for W10 and pirated pCARS from the beginning.
> don't be surprised if you get arrested for piracy
not technically illegal in this country
>you may be arrested for downloading porn
oh, you're a troll or a pedo. Good.

>>55989878
Well, Debian does open all ports by default.

>>55989865
Because they're proprietary cucks who only know WIndows, obviously.

>>55989895
I've used Linux for many years and actively prefer Windows for things Linux can't provide (no, not vidya).

>>55988951
Liniggers are literally scum

>>55989850
>make up bullshit
>call someone a paid shill when they are called out

holy fuck you are a tool

>>55989888
Checked. It's a good thing Windows did that then, now more people will install Linux instead of Windows am I right?

>>55989904
I always keep a Windows box just in case I'm ever required to use it. That's mainly because I hate Wine just as much as Windows anyway though. Still since I'm in CSIS I haven't actually needed Windows in about eight years. It's personal preference really but I've never seen a piece of software that can't run naively on GNU/Linux if needed. Windows have GNU binaries now though so, it's probably the same vice-versa.

>>55989918
So do you have any proof of Microsoft not selling all thins data it collects? Because the EULA says it may be shared with 3rd parties.

>>55989868
The thing is that's what they're being used for now, but once someone else has all that information on you, you can't go back. If they start doing something you don't like with it, or sell it to someone you don't trust, you have no way of putting the cat back in the bag. Do you not only trust Microsoft today, but in perpetuity?

If not, the only safe option is to not let them know anything.

>>55989942
>>55989850
>>55989828
>>55989215
>>55989777
>>55989092
>>55988951
>Install Windows 10
>Install https://www.safer-networking.org/spybot-anti-beacon/
>???
>Profit

>>55989972
Oh yeah, the program works on Windows 7 as well so make sure to block telemetry on 7 if you're using that.

>>55989972
It's just a placebo, it doesn't work.
Anniversary update even makes the updates ignore the hosts file.

>>55989972
I think it's silly to trust some program to get rid of all telemetry on your computer.

>>55989991
Then what is this, people working with Microsoft just making a placebo program to make user think they're in control?
I don't think anyone would go that far.

>>55989752
Well, you can run anti-virus and anti-malware to protect against third-party stuff. It definitely won't catch everything, but if you rely on common sense 2016 plus a decent anti-virus, you're probably good against 99% of attacks that aren't specifically targeted toward you.

As for privacy, well you can install a good firewall and configure it to block MS - I'd recommend a separate enterprise-grade hardware unit. Maybe a Cisco ASA or a pfSense box.

>>55989014
i just checked and it seems that linux doesn't even have autocad, what the fuck, only gaming my ass

>>55989485
>TinyWall
>Normal, All, Outgoing, Autolearn
Which one should I chose?
Also, with this, is there any need to install any other firewall?

>>55989940
Linux's <1% market share means its library of good programs are pretty fucking small, unless you just want to browse Facebook or have a custom neckbeard desktop to tinker with.

On top of that problem, you have like 5 main distros all trying to do their thing separately. If you use Ubuntu for example, you miss out on the AUR in Arch, or compile flags in Gentoo.

Some developers only use certain distros and never bother packaging and making it compatible for other systems. It's just a fucking mess of wasted work. That's one of the many reasons I still use Windows, as it doesn't have this problem.

>>55989989
[citation needed]

>>55990028
No, people making a program which they think it gets rid of all telemetry yet it doesn't.

>>55990062
"Normal" is what you should be using most of the time.

Use "Autolearn" if your programs can't access the internet, it will add them automatically. Switch it back to Normal when you're done (important).

>>55990065
>If you use Ubuntu for example, you miss out on the AUR in Arch, or compile flags in Gentoo.
>Some developers only use certain distros and never bother packaging and making it compatible for other systems.

"download code, compile it, run the resulting program" is something you can do on any distro. Really anything you can do on Linux you can do on any distro. Different distros just have different customizations and default configurations, slanted towards making different things easier. But you have the tools to do whatever you damn well please on any of them.

Which is really the base of Linux's advantage over Windows, really.

>>55990055
>you're probably good against 99% of attacks that aren't specifically targeted toward you.
Out of curiosity, how would those roughly work and what would be a solution to protect against them?

>>55990112
You're still at the mercy of the upstream and distro maintainers unless you're willing to update an entire operating system by yourself. Which no one has the time for, and certainly not a typical Uboontoo/Windoze user.

OP here, I'll keep lurking and posting but I just wanted to thank everyone for the time you took to explain so many things to such a clueless beginner.

Ive been dual booting Ubuntu MATE and windows forba while now. Gaming and video editing? I have Windows. My Windows 10 installation is absolutely bare bones. Updated, CCleaner, MBAM, HWmonitor, games, and movie/video editor.

Anything I consider sensitive (encrypted container with text document of passwords, family photos, logging into email or bank) I have Linux. I'm looking to get VGA passthrough going but it seems convoluted, even for me. Anyone done it and care to comment?

>>55990078
Heh. I can't really measure their skills, but Spybot have been around and working well for quite some time now, so I thought they would be pretty efficient whatever they're doing. Maybe not then.

>>55990211
Dual booting is cumbersome and you usually end up spending more time in whatever OS you're currently in because rebooting to switch is annoying as fuck.

>>55990219
I'm not saying it doesn't work. Just consider it's a single program, working inside the OS, against the same OS. I think it's fair to assume the OS has its ways of perpetuating its spying shenanigans despite the programs' efforts.

>>55990228
Not if you're on an ssd. Even a mediocre one gives 5 second reboots.

>>55990228
I'd be ok with dual booting if only my PC wasn't slow as fuck to boot, shit takes almost 1 mn, and I have an SSD, I don't even.
Never found any solution, and neither fresh install of Win or Ubuntu fixed it.
But yeah for someone with a 2016 boot time wich I guess is pretty fast, dual booting might be the best solution.

>>55990268
Or get a good, quality HDD, reinstall your crusty fucking WInshit install or install GNU or *BSD and get close to that and have a ton of fucking space to put shit on for the same price as that cancerous SSD that will probably give you a random drive failure.

>>55988903
Of course it isn't. You're using Windows 10, you'll be working against the grain every step of the way.

>>55990268
A reboot still closes all your programs including web browser tabs, so yeah.

>>55988903
the best way to maximize privacy is to install windows server 2016. Even from there you still have the problems of security and stability depending on the hardware and software version.
More or less, you can fix security with an anti-malware program like malewarebytes. Keep the database updated as much as possible and you should be near-solid.

stability is fucked, you're dealing with windows here.

the total of going through those steps legally is around $800 + 30/year

>>55989485
>Tinywall

Been looking for alternatives just in case, isn't Comodo supposed to be better?

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>>55988972
>>55989019

>playing games

>>55990341
>having fun

If I follow all the steps in this video, will I be safe? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1kGMCfb2xw

>>55990441
No

>>55990341
>playing games
>>55990348
>having fun

Personal computing is for niggers

>>55990465
why not tho, and do you have sources to back that up?

>>55990482
Never mind my last post.

Yes, you're safe now.

So basically Win 7 > Win 8 > Win 10?

>>55990497
Seriously bro, does this actually work? So far I haven't seen any plausible arguments to Windows 10 Telemetry. Of course people want it disabled but the question is: is it really disabled even if you disable everything in Windows 10's Privacy Settings? Or even if you edit group policies? No one fucking knows.

tbqh with you man i'm so tempted to wireshark and disable all microsoft IPs through hosts

>>55990514
Yup

>>55990550
It appears to work, but can you really trust a program working within an OS to really stop whatever said OS is doing? I'd rather just avoid the OS altogether.

>>55990151
Sky's the limit. How would any fraud or con against you work? It might be difficult for me just knowing you as anon on 4chan, but maybe it's your co-worker and he's willing to put some time into getting access to your girlfriend's nudes...

>>55990514
If you're going to bother using Win 7, just use Win 10.
>>55990568
This is true but are there alternatives to Photoshop, Office, AutoCAD, Acrobat, MusicBee on Linux? And what distribution of Linux should I use for a beginner? I dislike Ubuntu's color scheme, it looks shit.

>>55990583
>I dislike Ubuntu's color scheme, it looks like shit.

You can always use a different DE(Desktop Environment) or use different themes. Something like Kubuntu might be more to your liking. All I can say is install something easy like Ubuntu or a flavor of it like Kubuntu, and try different DEs and see what you like.

>>55990612
And how's driver support? By the way, I'm using my integrated HD 3000, I don't play games so I have no need for a dedicated video card.

>>55990625
Very rarely will you actually have to hunt down a driver. I wouldn't worry about the HD3000, the driver for it will be there automatically on install and you will have full access to hardware acceleration etc. The only piece of hardware that I haven't been able to get working is my SoundBlaster Z soundcard. If you're curious about anything specific check out https://community.linuxmint.com/hardware

>>55990583
>If you're going to bother using Win 7, just use Win 10.
Why, isn't 7 better at least for privacy?
If not, I'm guessing there's no other option than Gentoo then?

>>55990673
Linux will obviously be better. But disabling the telemetry on Windows 10 doesn't take long, maybe 10 minutes. The reasons you wouldn't want to use 7 instead of 10 is that Windows 10 has update longevity, plus DX12/Anniversary Update.

>>55990702
>DX12
Is very cool, but we'll have to see more game adoption before it really becomes a real reason, especially with vulkan on the market as well.
>Anniversary Update
Not really a good reason to use 10

>>55990673
>no other option than Gentoo
Anyone who tries to tell you there is only one distribution you should use has entirely missed the point of linux.

>>55990738
Anniversary update made the Metro apps a lot more snappier IMO. I'm talking about Windows 10 in general, compared to 7 it boots faster (which is a big plus to me since I plan on dualbooting Linux with Windows eventually). It's just a better operating system overall.

>>55990583
>alternatives
Photoshop CS6 Portable, Office 2010, Acrobat X Pro work fine in Wine.

>>55989092
You can't actually just block Windows updates at the router... dumb computer janitors think that you can, but you can't.

Windows 10 is uh, smart. Each Windows 10 device is capable of finding other Windows 10 devices on the local network and streaming them updates, torrent style. Even if you blocked *every* Windows Update server at the firewall (an impossible task, Microsoft adds thousands of new IPs and hostnames each day), you still can't contend with the presence of other Windows 10 computers on your own local network (hey anon can I borrow the wifi password?) and the possibility that webservers running Windows Server 2016 can negotiate an update over encrypted traffic while you think you're just visiting a normal website.

The botnet is real.

>>55988903
Linux = privacy
Windows = no privacy

That's why Linux is safer, but safer from feds, not from hackers...

>>55989909
Yeah, but your mom doesn't seem to mind.

>>55988951
vidya is the only reason 60% of people use windblows, that and software only works on windows. If linux could have windows compatibility and features without botnet it'd be perfect.

The only "safe" computer these days is one that's disconnected from the internet and LAN.

>>55991883
Why would you need to be safer from feds if you have nothing to hide?

>>55990702
>But disabling the telemetry on Windows 10 doesn't take long, maybe 10 minutes.

Disabling telemetry on Windows 10 is not possible.

>>55992142
proof?

>>55990769
>compared to 7 it boots faster (which is a big plus to me since I plan on dualbooting Linux

You're retarded.
First of all, it doesn't boot faster, it simply has "fast startup" enabled by default.
Second, if you're dual booting with Linux you need to disable "fast startup" otherwise you'll end up with a corrupted file system.

>>55992172
do you know how to enable fast startup on 7?

>>55992170
my tinfoil hat told me in my dream

>>55992246
There is no fast startup on 7. But you can use sleep, which is even faster. Or hibernation.
Fast startup is a pointless gimmicky feature.

Jus install debian/ubuntu + win
Use the first for everything but games.
Das what i do.

>>55992261
k

>>55988903
>I don't see people working in serious/important fields using Windows rather than Linux in general)
I doubt you see many serious environments in your moms basement. Business is 90% windows unless the business is developing for servers or for android app store. Production software nearly completely runs on windows.

>>55989894
Uhh, no.

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>>55993554

>>55988903
I use win10, but most of my coworkers run some kind of linux disto and run windows in a VM.

And that's because we're in a C# project, else they probably wouldn't touch it.

(also, IE8 testing, because government)

>>55993633
Ubuntu does. Torrent clients and all kind of other incoming traffic are free to do whatever they please with your machine.

>>55993638
Only an autist or someone with brain damage would find using terminals in 2016 to achieve basic tasks fun .