Good Morning Windows Users...This Is Your Wake-Up Call

If you are a Microsoft Windows User, this is indeed a wake-up call. Unfortunately, it is going to fall into the catagory of Rude Awakening.

Now if you have been paying the slightest bit of attention, you already know that there are some "issues" with Microsoft Windows. There are issues with the likes of viruses, trojans, spyware, adware and keyloggers...all thrown at you by the bad guys. TV, radio and the Internet are crammed with ads daily, trying to get you to buy their "protection." It is a given that you are attacked with these things in order to create mayhem for no good reason. Many of these attacks are engineered to steal your personal information and ultimately your money. We have come to expect it from the bad guys. In fact, these bad guys are being caught consistantly and thrown in jail.

Thats a good thing.

Here is something that is not.

People that you trust are doing the same thing. Companies like Microsoft, Sony, Intel...people you willfully let into your computer are taking advantage of your ignorance. They know that you gloss over the "fine print" in the software agreements and you readily click "I agree" without reading them. They realize that you trust them. They also realize that you don't want to be bothered with such technical detail and simply want to use the computer to get your work done. Now they are sneaking things onto your system that you normally would not allow. Let's take a look at some of them and you can judge for yourselves.

First, I want to say something to you about computer security. At the risk of alienating you right off the bat, I want to tell you that many of the problems you encounter with viruses are due to user carelessness or apathy. It is convenient to blame Microsoft for these problems and they do have some culpability. If they did not create a fertile environment for these nasties, they would not exist. However, Microsoft and AOL have created an entire generation of "dumbed down" computer users. Users that just cannot be bothered with learning some of the basic things about a computer or its operating system. They have taught you:

"Just click here. We'll take care of the rest."

Well, "just clicking here" has gotten you into a mess whether you know it or not and we're going to talk about it.

Go ahead...trust us.

Let's start with Sony. This article is written for the non-technical reader and Windows User. As an intermediate-level computer user, there is far more that I don't know than I do. That being the case, I was a bit confused in trying to understand what the following article was telling me.

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html

An article that condenses it a bit and just gives you the facts without all the figures is here:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27349

In a condensed explanation, these articles are telling you that The Sony Corporation and with cooperation by the Microsoft Corporation, is putting a virus of sorts on your computer when you use one of their products. The first article goes into depth on the technical aspects of the "rootkit" used by Sony and how damaging it can be to your computer. It all comes back to the recording industry using "DRM" or digital rights management on your computer.

DRM and the impact it has on your freedom as a computer user is a serious matter. The music and movie industries are trying extremely hard to limit your freedoms in order to boost their profits. You can find a complete explanation of DRM and its ramifications here:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,942369,00.asp

The music industry says that music piracy is cutting into their profits at a horrible rate. Whether this is true or not, I have no idea. The stealing of music is wrong and an industry has every right to protect itself from theft, who could argue differently? However, when the music industry puts software on your computer that they do not tell you about, we have a problem. When the software is programmed to disable your computer if you try to remove the software, we have a problem. Microsoft knows full well that Sony employs these rootkits.

It was only with the help of Microsoft that the program was written. Your best bet? Many of today's music and movie cds have built in players in them. When these "players" are installed, so is the rootkit. If you see on the wrapper that the product is copyright protected, simply avoid buying it. It has one of these self-installing rootkits in it. It will install the software without your permission and you will have to completely erase your hard drive and all your data to get rid of it.

Linux systems are not chained to DRM as of yet and it is doubtful it will ever be. Anyone with any concern for their computer security will look into changing away from Microsoft Windows. I myself am a Linux user and have found it not only to be very easy, but secure and void of the worries Microsoft Windows Users endure. Two issues keep most people from changing operating systems. The first one is a general dislike for change. The second reason is that you basically start all over. That means all of your hard data like documents, music/video files and pictures can be saved to disk. All the rest of your software like your chat clients and email will start anew. Now you can backup your email and import it, but many will need some help with it. While these two reasons keep most people from changing systems, you have to make a decision.

Are you going to endure the slight inconvenience of changing systems or are you happy to remain a punching bag for Microsoft and their affiliates? If you refuse to either change operating systems or challenge MS, that is exactly what you are becoming. A recepticle for abused trust.

Linux is a very simple, yet different way to operate your computer. forget the "Linux is for Geeks" mantra that others recite. Lobby4Linux is responsible for helping hundreds of people get away from Microsoft Windows. They range from 12 year old Jr. high students to 84 year old great-grandmothers. I find it hard to believe you would have trouble using it if jr. high school kids are installing it on their own. It's just that easy.

But it is different and you will have to spend some time "learning" it. The people who develop Linux distributions have developed a "live cd" for you to use. A Linux live cd allows you to put the disk in the computer, reboot, and when it comes back on, it boots to a fully functional Linux system. It changes nothing on your computer and when you are done, reboot the computer, remove the disk and "Bingo"...you are back in Windows. You can and should install Linux to get the full benefit from it, but that too is drop-dead easy and you can install it so that you have a choice of which system your computer uses. It's called dual-booting and millions of Americans have learned the benefits of this marvel.

Microsoft has long since forgotten that YOU are the reason for their success. They have bullied entire nations into not changing over to Linux, but their tactics have failed. The Pentagon, Wall Street, and thousands of businesses, universities and schools have switched to Linux. Why? Because it is secure and there are no "upgrade traps" to Linux. All the software on your Linux disk is free. From office applications to music players, everything comes already with the system at no cost to you.

Go to PCLinuxonline.com and find the download link on the left side of the page. There you will find the .iso image needed to create your very own Linux live cd. While you are there, look for the PCLinuxOS Wiki link. The instructions on that page will give you step by step how-to's on making the disk work. There are dozens of live cd distributions available, but PCLinuxOS has proven to be not only the best, but the easiest for the new Linux User.

Here is hoping to a better computing environment to you. Lobby4Linux.com also has help forums and people eager to assist you and answer your questions.

Ken Starks, aka helios
www.lobby4linux.com

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