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If you're only using the web, just drop your favorite Linux ( http://linuxiso.org/ ) or your buddy's old copy of Windows onto whatever used hunk of junk you can come by. Public machines are the worst possible place for confidential data. Ask around! Ask a geek! Someone has an old PC collecting dust just begging for the old starving student routine -- I have a closet full of old junk for this exact purpose. Once you can earn the money for a decent laptop you have earned the ability to be safe on the go. Good luck.

For direct Linux CD downloads, try http://linuxiso.org/ and for torrents try http://linuxtracker.org/ There are others. Many others.

Adaware and Spybot Search and destroy are your best place to start, but I understand your frustration. Probably three out of the last four times I've dealt with a Spyware infested machine they didn't completely do the trick on their own.

Install and run Adaware and Spybot S&D, making sure you update the programs and select to perform deep scans (within archives, etc) in the custom scan options. This will probably most of the easiest and most common exploits. Reboot.

Go through your Add/Remove programs menu and try removing any programs you can identify as spware. If the programs didn't come with an uninstaller, I would have to officially recommend you do not go through any of their steps to download one and run it. I have tried this in the past with mixed results. Some of these programs truly were just severely annoying adware that actually removed themselves at the end of this lengthy process, but some were truly malicious that simply installed MORE spyware after running the uninstaller. I recommend you don't risk this.

Open up the task manager and go through each and every process, reseaching in if need be. I use groups.google.au to get the older version which seems to provide more relavent results. Kill any processes that you find are suspiscious. Hell, kill any processes you can't identify as normal Windows OS or application processes. I dealt with a instance of spyware once that executed two randomly named processes that protected the spyware from removal. If you killed one process, the other would immediately respawn it.

Go through all of your startup locations: C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp C:\WINDOWS\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\RunServices HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Run Start --> Run --> msconfig --> Startup tab

Once again, go through each and every item and delete or disable everything that you can identify as malicious. It's likely that when searching you will run across others who have dealt with the same spyware issues in the past and have had to figure out how to remove them.

Run your Adaware and Spybot S&D scans again. Reboot. Test your machine to see if the spyware is still there. Still have problems?

Download and run Hijack This Pour through your log once more, or alternatively post it to one of the many forums where professionals are willing to lend you a helping hand. At this point, you may also want to consider downloading and running Rootkit Revealer.

Also, try rebooting into safe mode and running your scans. Even though you are in safe mode, you should still monitor and kill processes that are suspicious. Remember, Sony's Rootkit came complete with a safe mode driver.

If all of this hasn't worked, then I suggest you back up your data, scan it for viruses, and do a low level format with a utility such as Killdisk. Now that you have to reinstall your OS, perhaps now is the prefect time to make the Linux switch.

Several patches have already been released. ;)

I'm rather happy to see that Micro$oft is selling more software than (what I'm assuming to mean) Linux developers. Because there are still more Linux servers in use than Windows, that can only mean that people are downloading the bloody operating system for free. Not like there's any shortage of sites...

Note the difference between selling (distributing in exchange for a fee) and using (making it do useful work).

Yay, misleading statistics!!

I'm essentially crypto ignorant. About all I've known to do was verify MD5 hashes on downloads. Now that this is by-and-large pointless, how to check the veracity of things like Linux ISO's, video drivers, etc, ad inifintum?

And for everybody else who has better uses for their cash (like groceries):
http://www.linuxlookup.com/html/main/iso.html Get Linux.
http://www.linuxiso.org/ Get Linux.
http://distrowatch.com/ Get Linux (or BSD).
http://www.livingwithoutmicrosoft.org/ Learn more about alternatives.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/ Ask a Linux pro.
http://madpenguin.org/cms/ Read reviews of Linux.

Missing one:

- Vista Byebye
http://www.linuxiso.org/

Don't you mean Hasta la Vista?

Dan Aris

Missing one:

- Vista Byebye
http://www.linuxiso.org/

Point one: Go to http://www.linuxiso.org/ . Click on any Linux distro. Click on that distro's homepage at the top. Find the link on that distro's home page called "screen shots", which are pictures of actual Linuxen running on actual computeren.

Look! There's a bar at the bottom of the screen just like Windows. There's an icon on the far left of the bar just like Windows. Click on the icon and a menu pops up just like Windows. Move the mouse up the menu and look at all the programs, just like Windows. Select the email program from the internet submenu, just like Windows. Click on Mozilla and a web browser opens up with a titlebar you type Google in and a back button and other gizmos at the top, just like Windows. I've never seen the full Linux distro that didn't come with the solitare card games, just like Windows.

The difference is, whenever you want to, you can hit Ctrl-Alt-F2 and have a completely different computer, with ten times the stuff that Macintosh and Windows has combined, and you'll be able to use your computer in new and imaginative ways. And when you're done with that you can hit Alt-F7 and get your I-can't-believe-it's-not-Windows desktop back like nothing ever happened. Oh, yeah, and it's cheaper.

Hey, did you hear the one about the foreigner who emmigrated to the US and couldn't speak English? He got a job and had a co-worker who knew his language and a little English. So the co-worker taught him to say "Apple pie and coffee", so he could order lunch.
After a week of this, the shy foreigner got up the nerve to trouble his friend to teach him some more, because he was sick of apple pie and coffee. So then he learned "Ham sandwich and coke".
So he goes in and orders:
"Ham sandwich and coke."
And the waitress said, "You want that sandwich on wheat or rye?"
He said, "Ham sandwich and coke."
The waitress added, "And is that coke regular or diet?"
So he said, "Apple pie and coffee."

That's just what the Windows crowd is starting to remind me of. Sick of what they have, too intimidated to try anything else.

There is just one, and only one, reason why Linux is harder than the other operating systems. Because the store doesn't install it for you when you buy the computer. If Linux came default with every box and MacIntosh and Windows had to be gotten by other means, nobody would know a smit of difference. We'd all be saying how impossible Windows and MacIntosh is to learn, and nobody in their right minds would use them. That's because all operating systems are hard to install, if you don't have it as your professional job to do.

Point two: MacIntosh isn't going to steal too many users that weren't going there already. If anything, it'll take Microsoft down a notch or two. I'm dying to hear a report from the first home user to load a Mac OS on an x86. Let's see how they do!

And then there's always http://www.linuxiso.org which has been doing this for a very long time. I always recall their download speeds being pretty decent, unlike some if the 2k/sec torrents I've gotten.

While I appreciate what OpenBSD has provided, OpenSSH for one, I do have to pause when I consider how the distribution itself is licensed.

OpenBSD is distributed as a bunch of files, and an FTP based installer. If you want ISOs, you can buy them, but you can't share them after you buy them because they are proprietary. You can get an ISO made by someone else, however the OpenBSD site implies that you probably shouldn't trust them (but that's your decision to make), provided the ISO is not the same was the "official" ISOs.

I realize they are trying to earn money to support OpenBSD's efforts. However, several Linux distributions also seek to earn money for their efforts, yet they also provide ISOs of their distribution (for free even). Take a look at LinuxISO for an example of the various ISOs available.

For all his quirks, I do not believe RMS would blur things in the same way. Whether you agree with him or not, he makes his position known, and then stands by it. I don't think he'd make a "proprietary" version of his work like OpenBSD is doing.

I am not saying Theo doesn't have the right to do this. He does. And it's his choice (or OpenBSD's choice, if there's a board that makes these decisions) how to license and release their work. I just think it's a bit hypocritical, that's all.

Something to consider. I do not know if they would consider this a violation, but from what I understand of how OpenBSD ISOs are licensed it would be. Suppose you and a few friends, or you have an office with multiple people supporting your systems. You would be violating the license on the distribution if you purchased one set of disks and made copies for your internal use. _IF_ one of the strengths of FOSS is the freedom from the hassles and expense of managing proprietary licenses, then that strength is effectively taken away by the proprietary nature of the OpenBSD ISO license, since, in theory at least, you would still need to track the ISOs to make sure you did not have illegal copies.

[For the record, I have purchased OpenBSD in the past. I ended up not using it for various reasons I won't go into here. When I needed BSD, I used FreeBSD instead. The ISOs are also available at the LinuxISO link above. I also use Linux and Mac OS X.]

Click here or here or even here

Take an old machine too slow to run M$ warez on and install SME/E-Smith on it. http://www.linuxiso.org/distro.php?distro=13 This is a free linux server distro designed for small groups, it has a full mail server with pop and imap support. It builds the entire system and applications from one CD. It has a wonderful "backup to desktop" feature and runs for years without a reboot.

One of the reasons SME runs nicely on old hardware is that it does nor run a GUI but is administered throug its own web server.

• Visual Studio .Net Professional 2003 - $528.66
• Office 2003 Standard UPGRADE - $228.59
• Windows XP Professional w/ SP2 - $308.77
• Switching to Linux/OpenOffice/Something from SourceForge - priceless

You can download the patch here

The google theory about Joe sixpack being overloaded is valid. Having heard how great linux from the tech-friend who said we could just download and install it, we google for "download linux". The first link http://www.linuxiso.org/ smacks us with 15 different distros upfront, although it does offer an Introduction to Linux, which plays agnostic when the noob question "Which Distribution Is The Best?" is asked. The second link http://www.linux.org/dist/download_info.html gets us to a page that has an over of how to download a linux distro, and a link to a distributions page that even after we fill in English / Live CD / Intel Based Architecture, we get 59 distributions.

Assuming Joe downloads a good distribution (most of them are good for his purposes but HE DOESN'T KNOW THAT) he decides to google for "install linux" and gets back to http://www.linux.org/docs/beginner/install.html which mentions a few distros (is SuSE a 12 year old girl with bad spelling?) and refers to distro specific instructions via an Install Guide circa 1998 before going straight into red-hat specific instructions. The second google link is Installing Linux on a Dead Badger, which Joe decides would be easier to do than install it on his "dude you got a dell".

Bottom line, unless you hand Mr. 6-pack a Live-CD with a simple hard-drive install option (auto-repartition, auto-detect network and video), he is most likely not going to be able to download, burn, boot and install "linux".

Quick. Download the patch here

That makes it an entirely different ballgame in my book; while I found the RIAAs actions to be particulary loathesome, even if they did have the legal upperhand, the MPAA is being much better behaved. Sure Suprnova, LokiTorrent, et al may have carried the odd Linux ISO in their time, but the majority of their Torrents are for commercial apps, music, movies and TV shows. Last I checked, without explicit permission, the distribution of any of those was copyright infringement, which is a civil crime. What would be interesting would be the reaction to a site deleting all of its dodgy torrents and leaving just the truly free stuff before the nastygram arrives. Until we see that, or someone like LinuxISO.org getting sued, the MPAA is entirely within its rights as far as I am concerned.

Not that I think either the RIAA or the MPAA is going to have any more luck in their endeavors than the BSA did with cracking down on the Warez sites back in the day. Still, having clamped down on the MP3 sites, at least the RIAA somewhat reluctantly got behind legitimate alternatives like iTunes, the revived Napster and so on. Hopefully the MPAA will do the same PDQ; a subscription or per-view based system where I can get the latest TV episodes over P2P would be something I'd *seriously* consider.

http://linuxiso.org/download.php/457/i386live.iso. bz2

Hi. The Windows oriented ones are Xandros and Linspire. You can google for a free Linspire download coupon (web site will still say it costs money but I'm hearing that apparently it doesn't). You can also try the CD based Knoppix, downloadable from linuxiso.org. Knoppix can boot only from the CD so you can nondestructively test it and then install it later if you like it.

Stripped down? I use XP Home on my laptop and develop software for a living. The only thing you cannot do on Home that you can on Pro is localhosting of web-apps. I see no need since I have development servers to host them on (plus if my laptop gets stolen I don't have to worry about what HIPAA related data might have been on it).

OEM is the same as buying it retail from Best Buy. No support. Additional hardware can be something as cheap as a $1.49 ATA Cable

If you need support you certainly shouldn't be installing an OS yourself. Xandros offers 60 Days for the Deluxe version and 30 Days for the Standard version. This support is INSTALL SUPPORT ONLY. Microsoft offers the same OEM or Retail (you pay).

My comparison was primarily on cost. How the hell can you simply program a few interfaces for things like VPN take 10's of thousands of hours of someone elses work and charge the same as the Evil Empire? It doesn't make sense to me.

BTW Ubuntu is comparable and it's free. Like Fedora... and many more

...is to be found on http://www.linuxiso.org/ - and, best of all, it's free! \o/

Wow,

It seems like I'm the only person who read this and thought, "Hey! I should do that too!"

Honestly though, stop giving the guy such a hard time. I talk to lots of people who tell me they've been vaguely wanting to try GNU/Linux but didn't know how/we're scared to try/etc. I first tried GNU/Linux by using a SuSE Live CD, and now I run Debian on all my computers.

So long as the CD Label provides a few simple but essential instructions, it could be really appreciated by some recipients.

The labels should say something like: This is a version of GNU/Linux. Put this CD in your computer's CD-Rom drive and restart the computer. You will get a demonstration of GNU/Linux that will NOT alter your hard drive or damage your current Windows operating system. Did I mention it has games? Enjoy! For more information, check out: http://www.mepis.org (assuming you put Mepis on the CDs.)

http://www.linuxiso.org/distro.php?distro=17
http://www22.verizon.com/fiosforhome/channels/fios /root/package.asp
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%28651+MB +%2B+664+MB%29+%2F+%2830+Mbps%29

Sorry.

All I've got to say is http://linuxiso.org/.

here, here and here

You can pick up your favorite Linux distro at http://www.linuxiso.org/

perhaps these suggestions will help you to get your radeon working with 3d acceleration under Linux, as mine works fine(Radeon 9200 Pro on Mandrake 10.0 Official w/ kernel 2.6.3-7-up4GB)

http://linuxiso.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21825

the n00b howto is in the last post about a quarter of the way down in the post.

along with your course, I think you would be smart to send each student home with a copy of Knoppix so they can play around on their own time. If they're like most tech people, their computer use won't stop when they leave work, and knoppix would be an easy way for them to explore linux on their own. as most computer users will tell you, exploration is the best way to learn

I haven't look at Novell in quite a while and this morning I noticed that they have a free download of SUSE "desktop Linux" available on their site. So, I thought I'd grab a copy since it says "No registration or key is required". The actual download page, however, says:

"Registration is required for the free download of SUSE LINUX 9.1 Personal. You will also be asked to complete a very brief survey."

No thanks, Novell. I think I'll grab my copy here.

... out on the linuxiso website: LinuxISO.org.

I don't even know where to download a Linux distro, and I read slashdot on a daily basis

Obviously you don't read /.
I saw a link to linuxiso.org in this very thread.

USB is still a little fucked up, but the vendor support *is* coming around. The market needs a customer base to get their ass in gear for compatible gadetry, so why not go grab yourself a distro and boot into the 21st century? It doesn't cost anything, and you can always dual-boot to ween yourself off of vendor lock -in. If that's a little scary, then grab Knoppix, or MandrakeMove which boot and run from cdrom without even touching your system.

For all the open-source community is waiting for that eleventh hour of deliverance when an intern in a cheap Penguin suit exclaims publicly that "the era of the Linux desktop is here" -- it's not happening for a while.

I disagree. Its been happening for a while. Today slashdotters complain about stories of linux migration. They say so what, thats not news any more. A review of 3 linux distros by a non techie on a mainstream (not even tech section) channel? Change always takes time. Usually when things occur slowly its hard to take notice. No one can argue that a greater percentage of persons use linux today than did a year ago (no matter how small the change). That has been true for several years now. Linux companies have stopped going bankrupt and are now seen as lucrative (look at ximian and suse being bought by novell. look at Redhat being able to challenge SCO in the legal system)

A few days ago I was teaching my friend how to use a few command line programs (like 'ls' and 'cd') in FreeBSD. This ended up turning into a two hour circus regarding where the spaces go.

FreeBSD is not newbie friendly means that all linux distros are hard to use? I use Debian/Sid myself and always use the command line. But that can't detract from the efforts of Xandros, Lindos, SuSe, Fedora, Redhat, Knoppix, et al who work their asses off to ensure the simplest user experience.

YES, YOU IDIOT!! THE PAPERCLIP TOO!

Nobody likes the paperclip.

I don't care if it's a dancing penguin that takes up your entire screen, if it ends up being annoying as opposed to just plain hard for the normal user, that's a step up.

I am sure that I love Debian core, and FreeBSD as much as the other guy, but if I want something thats simple and easy to use (for non linux persons) get something that says it is. Try something new out. FreeBSD isn't always the best for everything. Nowadays all the 'desktop' distros seem to be pretty good.

Uninstalling Gator isn't terribly difficult. You require only two programs to do it :)

There's also a tutorial on the forums on Linuxiso.org Here which details how to download a copy of the FTP mirror, and create a full bootable DVD from the mirror, which contains everything the professional DVD has, barring the proprietary stuff.

1. License cost is quite low, even Mandrake is more expensive

Err, does that mean that you can download Microsoft Windows for free and actually get money in return?

2. You are a liar. Upgrades are not mandatory. You clearly lie about that. The upgrade cycles are smaller than Linux upgrade cycles which is higher in quantity.

You do not get support for Windows NT 4 or even security patches anymore. For some new hardware devices, there are no NT drivers either. You're not forced to upgrade, but it's a necessity. It would actually be ok if they didn't charge that much money for it.

3. Open source lock in is worse, since you have to deal with many number of individuals. XFree86 problem? France can not deal with such stupid issues.

Guess what? Last week I fixed a bug in Gentoo Portage without ever having looked at the source before. Isolating the problem and fixing it too me less than an hour. Before that, I fixed a number of trivial bugs in other OSS. It's not really difficult, any capable developer can make use of the source code, although naturally it's easier for those experienced with the project. And you did notice that XFree86 has actually been forked because of a licensing dispute? OSS allows you to do that. Try it with MS Windows.

4. "Pissing off Bill Gates" This is only something an idiot like you will consider. Governments are not losers like you, they have a real business.

Glasshouse. Stones.

Better spyware fix than Adaware & Spybot: S&D

Have you tried LinuxISO.org? They have both of the install ISOs for Slack 9.1.

Back in the early to mid 90s, I was hooked on Windows. I'd be up late rebooting, two, maybe three times a night. It got bad. Real bad. I couldn't score a clean install no matter who I asked. Even Nancy couldn't get me to Just Say No.

It was beginning to impact my life in a bad way. I fell in with a bad crowd: more than 100 users. They called me all day long looking to score a fix for why their system went down. I went to my supplier, he put the squeeze on me. Said I needed to "upgrade." I scraped up all my money and bought untold kilos of the stuff. It's all the same, man. You're flying high, then, bam! You crash and burn. This new stuff I'm on, this "XP?" Yeah, it's good shit. But sometimes you still crash hard and your day goes to hell.

I've been freebasing Unix for a while on the servers. Yeah, the real deal's pricey, but there's this other stuff out there if you know where to ask, it's called Linux, ok? Keeps me flyin' high all day and night long. Just watch out, some dealers will cut you down if you don't buy from them. Others are just messin' with your mind.

I get like 100 worms sending me email a week, from random IP addresses, all unpatched Windows systems. I assume that the massive piracy that MS talks about and blocks service packs for, have been infected by worms and are sending out virus emails to infect other systems.

Basically screw Microsoft, ditch the pirated copy of XP, and go to Linux or OpenBSD or some other OS which is virtually free. You will avoid legal trouble, and won't be spreading around any more worms. Linspire (nee Lindows) costs $50USD to download, but it is the best consumer version of Linux I have yet to see. I have a machine running it, and I love it. One less Microsoft license I have to buy when it is time to upgrade the OS on that machine. Learn to use F/OSS Goodies on Windows and they will be there for you on Linux and OpenBSD as well.

Soon after you made the switch to Linux or OpenBSD, you will forget your old worm and SP problems that XP suffered from.

I don't know about Mandrake, but hasn't SuSe had their live version for a while now?

Checking...

Yes.

LinuxISO's SuSe directory

You can get the LiveEval for 9.1 (w/ 2.6.4...)

Slax

SuSE

Mandrake

Knoppix

these four are the main seem to be the main live disks and should give you a feel for what is out there, I've used all of these and find them all easy to use, the advantage to Knoppix and Slax are that the Live disks can be used to do a Hard disk install where the SuSE and Mandrake ones can not. If you would like to look at other distros I'd recommend looking at THIS site, as it is dedicated to giving you access to as many distos as possable.

To use these you will need to make sure that you have CD burning software that allows you to burn an ISO image, most does though some burning software likes to play hide and seek so you may have to look for it. you will also need a High speed internet connection to down load most of these.

One other option is to see if there is a Linux User Group (LUG) in your area, usually someone at these will have a live CD laying around for you to have as well as be able to offer help to you while you start out.

this is by no means a definitive list of Live CDs if anyone knows of other please add to my list with your links, thanks.

Slax

SuSE

Mandrake

Knoppix

these four are the main seem to be the main live disks and should give you a feel for what is out there, I've used all of these and find them all easy to use, the advantage to Knoppix and Slax are that the Live disks can be used to do a Hard disk install where the SuSE and Mandrake ones can not. If you would like to look at other distros I'd recommend looking at THIS site, as it is dedicated to giving you access to as many distos as possable.

To use these you will need to make sure that you have CD burning software that allows you to burn an ISO image, most does though some burning software likes to play hide and seek so you may have to look for it. you will also need a High speed internet connection to down load most of these.

One other option is to see if there is a Linux User Group (LUG) in your area, usually someone at these will have a live CD laying around for you to have as well as be able to offer help to you while you start out.

this is by no means a definitive list of Live CDs if anyone knows of other please add to my list with your links, thanks.

Slax

SuSE

Mandrake

Knoppix

these four are the main seem to be the main live disks and should give you a feel for what is out there, I've used all of these and find them all easy to use, the advantage to Knoppix and Slax are that the Live disks can be used to do a Hard disk install where the SuSE and Mandrake ones can not. If you would like to look at other distros I'd recommend looking at THIS site, as it is dedicated to giving you access to as many distos as possable.

To use these you will need to make sure that you have CD burning software that allows you to burn an ISO image, most does though some burning software likes to play hide and seek so you may have to look for it. you will also need a High speed internet connection to down load most of these.

One other option is to see if there is a Linux User Group (LUG) in your area, usually someone at these will have a live CD laying around for you to have as well as be able to offer help to you while you start out.

this is by no means a definitive list of Live CDs if anyone knows of other please add to my list with your links, thanks.

Slax

SuSE

Mandrake

Knoppix

these four are the main seem to be the main live disks and should give you a feel for what is out there, I've used all of these and find them all easy to use, the advantage to Knoppix and Slax are that the Live disks can be used to do a Hard disk install where the SuSE and Mandrake ones can not. If you would like to look at other distros I'd recommend looking at THIS site, as it is dedicated to giving you access to as many distos as possable.

To use these you will need to make sure that you have CD burning software that allows you to burn an ISO image, most does though some burning software likes to play hide and seek so you may have to look for it. you will also need a High speed internet connection to down load most of these.

One other option is to see if there is a Linux User Group (LUG) in your area, usually someone at these will have a live CD laying around for you to have as well as be able to offer help to you while you start out.

this is by no means a definitive list of Live CDs if anyone knows of other please add to my list with your links, thanks.

Since you can't use SP2, why not try a different SP?

Excellent resource with awesome instructions on how to create DVDs or do a HD install as SuSE doesn't provide ISO's. Links to ISO's too.

Excellent resource with awesome instructions on how to create DVDs or do a HD install as SuSE doesn't provide ISO's. Links to ISO's too.