Trying to do our thinking for us, and taking data as they please. Jeesh, we gave you the OS, what did you expect? Oh wait, you paid for 7 and 8......we're doing it anyway. Which is why I keep going back to Linux. I should know better after well over 20 years. http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonk...tm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix&ref=yfp
It will continue to get worse. Im not to tech savy, but can you uninstall and hide per the instructions on the site you linked?
WS, to be honest, I don't really care. I know what I do on the internet isn't super secure, but this stuff goes against the grain for me. One word.......Linux. Sooooooo much easier to use now than even just a few years ago.
Can Linus operate on my desk top? Will it look just like it does on my smart phone or tablet? Can I run my Microsoft office with it?
But this begs the question: Is this hack only through Windows Explorer? If so then you are correct that it won't affect Linux. What about Firefox, etc.?
Has nothing to do with Explorer. It's MS Windows operating system updates. I would expect at some point, that no matter what you do as a "workaround" will be overridden by MS. You will be assimilated. Linux will run on a desktop or laptop. You can do almost anything in LibreOffice that you can do in MS Office, and it's no charge. THOUSANDS of software apps. No charge. Where's Grizzly Adam ? He could probably tell you more than I can. I think there are some others here that also use Linux of some kind.
You can put Linux on a thumb drive and test it out before you install it, and then install from that same thumb drive. I like Linux mint.
Not sure about the thumb drive version. Never done it that way. I d/l then put on a DVD. Tell the machine to boot from that drive, then it'll just run from the DVD, until you tell it to install. Like Adam says, try it out that way. Latest version is about 1.5 GB. http://linuxmint.com/
I like the thin drive method because I haven't had an io error while installing that way, and it's also a faster install. I keep some 4 GB drives around for such things-- even got one with windows 7 on it in case a customer needs an install. I never had anyone ask me to put 8 on there system.
I had to goggle it, but this is from the Wikipedia information, "Thanks to its dominance on smartphones, Android, which is built on top of the Linux kernel, has the largest installed base of all general-purpose operating systems. " It went on to say that it is dominant in large mainframe computers but is on 1.5% on desktops. I was trying to figure out what it would take to have the same thing or similar system that is on the phone and tables, to be on desktops. Just questioning. That way we can kiss Windows good by. I am not a Windows hater. I would like to be away from the system that is the target of hackers, and the windows intrusive behaviors itself. SmokeyTheBear has a system, but he knows computer script and is very familiar with digging into a system and ferreting out issues. I am not there. I can work with "canned" operating systems, but I can't write pathways.
Just install Ubuntu or Mint (based on Ubuntu) and have at it. The OS does most of the work after you answer a few simple questions. I didn't associate Android with Linux, but yes, it's based on the Linux kernel. Another thing about Linux.....it installs in about 15 minutes with a fairly new computer, even from DVD. Never had an IO error when installing it. Many, many different distributions to try if you're into that. The Epson printer we have right now doesn't work quite right with Mint (or Ubuntu), but that's the biggest problem I have. .
