Hi LQ users,

Firstly to introduce myself. I manage to use windows well enough, assemble PC's etc normally without any trouble. I haven't really came across anything in windows that I haven't been able to solve or get around one way or another, but as I imagine most windows users; I'm getting sick of having to run nod32, spy sweeper and search and destroy as well as being behind a router firewall just to use the Internet. Even being as careful as I try to be with the net i.e. without surfing as administrator and constantly updating XP and virus/ spyware definitions I managed to get infected with the winfixer hijacking program. I could have gotten rid of it by following some of the removal methods, but I couldn't be bothered it's just so much easier to format and install again.

I can honestly say I have had enough, I am getting sick of lots of PC's coming to me to (many built by me), because of the increasing spyware and virus problems. In the past I just put it down to people doing silly things like using Internet explorer, not updating their windows, anti virus etc or going to porn/ crack or warez sites. This is not the case now though, even if you are careful you will get problems and the majority of windows users that I know don't realize this until it's too late. Most users I know don't wonder why their PC's are not behaving properly or they may suspect that they have a problem and I have to explain when they bring them to me because “It's seems to be a bit slow”, that there is a good chance that they have viruses, spyware, dialers or bots even if many of them were under the delusion that their nort*n anti virus was keeping them safe, IMHO it is a virus. I'm by no means an expert windows user myself, but I'm seriously wondering if micro s*ft are capable of producing anything that isn't a security risk.

For all that I hate windows it does usually work. I want to get away from windows or at least try to anyway. So after years of wanting to try Linux and putting it off, about 3 months after doing a whole lot of forum reading I dual booted fedora core 4 64bit on my Averatec 6240 laptop as it appeared to be the distro that would give me the least hassle. I suppose overall I am quite happy using it although I still do have quite a few problems that I haven't managed to overcome yet, even after trying lots and lots of forum suggestions. Also I didn't post any questions or join any forums as I figured that I could muddle through with the help of reading other peoples questions. As a newcomer to Linux I am struggling with many tasks that I would just do in windows, which is why I have joined your forum and posted this introduction in the hope that I might get some sympathy help with some of the things I hope to achieve using Linux. I do have a lot of questions and although I always try and work things out myself I'm at the stage where I feel I am not going to get much further without asking for help. So I think I will be posting for help quite a bit in the Newbie section.

Regards,

Euan.

Welcome to LQ, Euan. Have a nice stay!

Moved: This thread is more suitable in Member Intro and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

Very articulate and interesting introduction. Welcome, Euan.

Thanks Mara,

Sorry I didn't see the new member info sub section link at the bottom. My mistake...

Euan

Cheers Samael. I hope that you are representative of the other users in this forum as I intend to start off asking simple little questions in the Newbie section and working my way up to the big Questions.. The end result would be that for normal use I wouldn't need to use windows at all on any of my pc's...

Welcome to LQ and Linux, Euan!