i use windows because its the only os i know how to use. i want to get into things like torrenting because free stuff is cool but im afraid to. ive heard of tails os, a os that boots from a flash drive, is that worth checking out or should i stick with windows?
what is your advice? what should i do?
You don’t need to jump from Windows to TAILS for torrents, try mint that is basically the same user experience as windows xp.
If you care about privacy and wanna use Windows… God help you…
You want Linux my friend
…and if you want to torrent then you need a respectable peer-to-peer VPN service like ProtonVPN
Mullvad is no longer ideal for torrenting because they discontinued port forwarding. Airvpn is a good alternative that still provides port forwarding.
and a True Linux ! not one that has been “infected” with parts that do not respect The Four Essential Freedoms of Free Software
So avoid Ubuntu for example…
have a look a this video https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/20140407-geneva-tedx-talk-free-software-free-society/
And for a Linux distrio have a look at https://www.devuan.org 💓
and about windows --> https://itvision.altervista.org/why-windows-10-sucks.html
ok ill give linux a try then but is there a certain version of linux you would suggest? one person suggest mint btw. if i go with Linux do i need a vpn or am i good without one?
You need VPN to hide your traffic from your internet provider, your OS will not help with that. Use Mullvad, nothing else.
If you want more secure OS, that will respect your privacy, your only options are Linux or BSD. If you only have experience with Windows, go with Linux Mint. Keep in mind that it is a fork of Ubuntu, so guides and packages for Ubuntu will work for Mint almost always.
Mint is more suited for newcomers.
AirVPN is better option for torrenting since Mullvad stopped offering port forwarding.
I use Ubuntu Budgie and that works perfect for me, but I hear Mint is good for beginners too.
And if you live in the US, always use a VPN when torrenting. But if you live in a country where you know no one will give a shit about you downloading a movie, then have at it.
In terms of digital security best practices, though, you should pretty much always use a VPN anyway. And follow this guide if you feel like you do need a VPN when torrenting.
Mint was designed to be easy for windows users. Learn some stuff about the package manager (software manager for GUI, and either apt or apt-get) and you should be alright. Fyi Linux Mint is basically Ubuntu (but with some good changes) so find what Ubuntu version you are running (using cat /etc/upstream-release/lsb-release in the terminal) and thats what software is compatable. I’d avoid full drive encryption because Timeshift (system snapshot app) doesn’t work with ZFS drive partitions.
There’s a lot of helpful comments here and being your age is a great time to start tinkering with computers! Just start by installing them into a VirtualBox because if you don’t have the knowledge it’s very easy to break things and anyone else that has to use the computer isn’t going to be very happy with you.
However, I want to point out something that actually address your concerns.
- If you are concerned about getting “caught” for torrenting then Windows vs any other OS makes zero difference.
- If you are concerned about viruses, Linux is more secure based on the fact that most viruses target Windows. However, this does not mean it is impossible. Learning basic security practices will help you on Windows and much as any other OS.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=NhitETZb8s0&t=0
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Windows 10 IoT enterprise LTSC and disable telemetry. Don’t bother with 3rd party apps for privacy unless you are 100% sure they are safe.
And never install from an ISO that’s been tampered with. Get directly from Microsoft.
