I thought that since a few emails on this list have been about
viruses going through email, I would let the people on the list know
about a easy way to stop worrying about these. It is quite simply to
not use Windows ( 3.0, 3.1, 95, 98, or NT ) for your email chores.
How, you might ask, do I do that. If I don't use Windows for my
email what will I use? Well might I suggest another operating system
for your computer. A <FEW> alternatives are ( in no particular order
), Mac OS ( your only choice for macs these days ), Linux ( in any of
it's many distributions ), a unix based system i.e FreeBSD, QNX
Solaris, Irix, etc... , or my particular favorite the BeOS ( also
available for some PowerPC macs ). Depending on how much time you have
on your hands, and the hardware that's in your computer, all of these
will provide you with a very clever way around these insidous viruses
that everyone is talking about. Because most email viruses are
designed around one specific operating system, a virus that could erase
all of the files on your hard drive in Windows, will be nothing more
than weird looking ( to humans at least ) text.
But before you go all out and spend your hard earned money to run
one of these operating systems, you should ask yourself these
questions:
-Do I have the necessary hardware to run the operating system?
-Can I put in the necessary time to learn how to use/install the
operating system?
-Is it really necessary for me to eliminate the threat of (most)
viruses to install another
operating system?
-Is the important data on my computer backed up. <-OR-> Am I
alright with possibly
having all my data lost?
-And most importantly, do I want to spend money on another
operating system?
If you answered no to any one of these questions, then I would
suggest to not install another operating system.
But If after all of this you DO decide to install one or maybe even
more operating systems, do some research on it first. Find out what
hardware it runs on, how hard it is to install, what kinds of programs
are available on it, what it is capable of doing, and finally how much
it costs.
Remember though that this WILL NOT eliminate your current operating
system, it will still be on your hard drive ( if you want it to ),
except now another operating system will coexist <sp?> on it as well.
Personally, I prefer the BeOS. It will run quite well under large
chores ( running a web browser, compiling software, playing sound
files, encoding sound files, and on top of all of this play a video
clip!) and not crash like Windows seems to do spontaneously. But it is
very strict on what hardware it can run on, if you have a 486 or a
older Pentium you can forget about this one, however, hardware support
is getting better all of the time. It does cost $79 ( US ) to order
new, $25 to upgrade ( that's right only $25 not $98 ), but if you can't
install it or you don't like it that much, Be will take it back. They
are quite nice when it comes to keeping their users happy. And did I
mention it is fast, my computer boots it up in 15 seconds ( Windows 98
takes around a minute to boot ).
But there is another alternative, Linux ( pronounced Lynn - ucks ).
It is just as crash proof as BeOS, if not more so ( I've heard of
servers being run for years without crashing ). But unless you are
already well versed in unix or aren't too knowledgeable about your
computer, this isn't for you. It is quite hard to install, If you
don't know a fair amount about what hardware is in your computer you
could mess something up, it took me quite a while to get it running the
first time I installed it. But Linux is quite interesting after
installed. It comes with a plethora of utilities and applications, and
not to mention, It's FREE. That's right I said free. Before you
collapse from shock I mean free as in philosophy not free as in beer.
All of the source code for the operating system and the applications
are available for all to look at and modify. While you could download
and install it from scratch, this would take alot of time, so it's
easier to just buy a distribution and save yourself the hassle. Most
cost from around $2 to $60 ( US ) to buy so they won't set you back too
far. It is also a very fast operating system.
As for the others, I'm sorry to say that I don't really have any
experience with them. A added benefit of using a second or third
operating system is you don't have to worry about the annoying legal
battle with Microsoft, it won't affect your 'extra' operating system,
and you can impress your friends with your computer savvyness.
I hope you've enjoyed my short (?) email on how to eliminate those
nasty email viruses. If you want more information about some of these
operating systems and companies here's some links for you or you could
email me and I'll try and answer your questions, enjoy!
BeOS
--hardware compatibility
--for fun
http://www.benews.com/
http://www.beoscentral.com/
http://www.bedope.com/
Linux
--some major and minor distributions
http://www.debian.org/
http://www.redhat.com/
http://www.stampede.org/ --my favorite, but still not for the average
user
http://www.caldera.com/
http://www.slackware.com/
--a great news site centered mainly around Linux
Other OS's
http://www.qnx.com/
http://www.freebsd.org/
http://www.netbsd.org/
http://www.openbsd.org/
( that' all I can think of at the moment )
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result
of a hundred
battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory
gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor
yourself, you will succumb in every battle" --Sun Tzu, The Art
of War.