First, sorry for the long post and billion questions (and hopefully it’s ok in this community? I saw a couple multiple-question posts without one in the title but I might have misunderstood the rule)
So, my PC is running W10 with ESU, and I’m very paranoid about… most things really, but the relevant one here is malware. I don’t just randomly download stuff from the internet, but I know you can get malware even without consciously doing that, and even though I have an AV (Bitdefender Free) I’m hesitant to just stay on W10 after the free ESU ends. But there’s no way in hell I’m switching to 11.
So, besides staying on regular W10, my main options would be Linux or W10 LTSC. And I have various questions regarding these three choices.
I consider myself relatively tech savvy compared to the average person, but definitely ignorant on the matter compared to the average Lemmy user. So it’s not exactly an ELI5, but definitely an ELI15 or something.
I also have access to a different, W11 PC that I could use as “testing environment”.
Option 1: Switching to Linux
Even regardless of security updates, Microsoft is getting on my nerves and I’ve been telling myself I need to switch to Linux or at least dual-boot for a while, but there’s various things making me question it:
(For most purposes, “Linux” here refers to Mint since that’s usually the one I see recommended for beginners, but if other distros work better for certain aspects I’d appreciate to know)
1a - Is there no file system that works perfectly on both Linux and Windows? I could technically dual-boot using two different drives, but what if I need to access/move files between two drives with different file systems? Which issues would I face if, say, one is NTFS and the other is ext4? I think all of my drives are currently in NTFS, would I have to reformat everything to safely access them from Linux without worrying about data/metadata loss?
1b - I read that to open an .exe on Linux I would have to do it through WINE, and that there’s a database to check compatibility of individual programs with it, but are the worst compatibility issues just “the program doesn’t open”, or can a compatibility issue result in data loss/corruption too?
1c - I’m currently using Firefox on Windows, is it possible to copy all my settings and data (browsing history included) from the Windows version to the Linux one?
1d - Other than specific .exe without WINE compatibility, are there any relatively common file types which can’t be opened with Linux that I should be aware of? (Mostly talking about picture/video/audio/text files, compressed archives or similar).
1e - What can I mess up by testing an USB live version? Are there any things I should be careful about? I’ve heard “changes aren’t saved”, but that’s referring only to OS configuration, right? And, going back to file systems, can I even access the data that’s on my NTFS drive from a live version or would I just be working with the stuff inside the USB?
1f - I read often that “you can’t get viruses on Linux”, but that’s mostly because they’re not developed specifically for it, so you might “get” them but they won’t work, right? If I dual boot, is there the chance that I get a malware while browsing with Linux and then it infects my pc when I boot Windows (even without consciously opening unknown .exe files)?
1g - Which Pc components should I pay attention to because they/their drivers might not work on Linux? Is there a site/tool that can check if my current hardware would have any issues? (For example, I have a Nvidia graphics card and I think I read that might be a problem?)
Option 2: Windows 10 LTSC
Linux would be the ideal, but if I get too paranoid or can’t invest enough time in it to figure how it works before October, my second choice would be W10 LTSC, since from what I understood, that one has much more extended security updates. I do have my share of doubts about it too, though:
2a - I heard there’s various different versions of W10 LTSC (IoT or not, RTM, 2021, I think there’s even an Enterprise version that isn’t LTSC?), but what are the actual differences? Is one version objectively better than the others?
2b - I know LTSC is meant to be used in a “company environment”, but are there any downsides to it compared to the Home version? Does it have some hard limitations on what can I do with it? (For example, can I play every Steam game currently supported by regular W10 on it?)
2c - The main place where I’m finding LTSC information is Massgrave, is the procedure to keep files on their page safe/advised or should I backup and format just in case? And after doing that, can I activate it with a Key bought from a third-party site? (I heard their Activation Script isn’t 100% perfect, and keys are not that expensive anyway)
Option 3: Regular Windows 10
If both Linux and LTSC end up being too overwhelming to trust myself with, the only choice left would be to stay on W10 with Bitdefender, at least for my main PC. Though I’m still pretty anxious about malware:
3 - I initially thought that you could get malware only by consciously downloading files, opening mail attachments, going on uncertified sites or plugging in infected devices, but apparently there’s some types of malware that can infect your PC without you consciously doing anything? (For example, I read the WannaCry attack affected even machines that did none of the above?) Is there nothing you can do to prevent this from happening on an unsupported OS besides “not connecting it to the internet at all”? Is this just not a viable choice if I don’t want to risk losing my files or having my data stolen?
Even getting some of these answered would be great, and of course, if you think I have some misconceptions that need to be corrected I’d love if you did so, thanks in advance!
1a - NTFS. Some may recommend exFAT but I strongly don't recommend it, it's not a journaling FS (so may corrup on power loss etc) and awfully slow. I'm pretty sure there's no problem with NTFS on Linux now, but I don't guarantee though.. I still use the old ntfs-3g fuse driver because I'm lazy to run the latest kernel. It's slower than the kernel driver, but works well and stable.
1b - Program's specific feature may not work, malfunction or crash. It surely can corrupt a file e.g. you run a document editor in WINE and the program crashes while the file is open. But usually it tends to work pretty well for many programs these days.
1c - Yes. Go to about:profiles on your Firefox, click "Open folder" and copy your profile folder to your linux install on ~/.mozilla/firefox/
1d - Not that I'm aware of.
1e - Don't format your existing drive, should be safe then. If you're really paranoid about losing data, disconnect the drives physically before testing the live distro. Yes the changes not being saved means changes you make to the linux session wouldn't persist and get reset the next time you boot that live usb. You can access your NTFS drives like normal even on live, there should be no difference to a full install to internal drive.
1f - Unlike Windows where you get programs from each program dev's website, on Linux you usually install them from your linux distro's repo. So unless you run sketchy binaries and scripts from 3rd party, it should be safe. You very likely would never get infected by simply browsing. No need to worry about that part. The Linux drive also wouldn't be accessible to Windows side, so unless your whole system including the Windows drive gets "infected" you're safe. If that happens you have bigger issues.
1g - Recent-ish nvidia card shouldn't be an issue. The easiest way to find out is to just trying to boot a live USB and see if things work.
2a - Win10 has multiple versions, like 1609/1703/1709/1803/..../21H2. LTSC is their "long term service channel" where they maintain a specific version for an extended time. They also have multiple editions, Home/Pro/Enterprise etc. What you're looking for is "Windows 10 Enterprise IoT LTSC 21H2". IoT means it's getting 10 years of support unlike normal LTSC which only has 5 years, 21H2 is the latest version. Enterprise (IoT) LTSC is also cleaner (less bloat) than Enterprise.
2b - You can everything you do on the normal editions. It's hard to legally obtain an Enterprise IoT LTSC license, but it's no issue since this is your personal machine. (use massgrave ohook or hwid for activation) Unlike normal versions you won't get pre-installed Candy Crush or Tiktok.
2c - Their method of keeping files should work fine, but it could go wrong. You should backup your existing Windows install if you decide to do this. Use dd on linux, CloneZilla maybe if you favor GUIs, to backup your whole Windows drive as an image you can restore to later. If you do a clean install with LTSC your system would be a bit more cleaner, since "upgrading" from normal Windows does keep the clutter from the normal version. I'd recommend clean install if you don't tend to spend a lot of time configuring your system. massgrave MAS works fine, no need to buy sketchy keys.
3 - Yes there are those kinda malwares. Theoretically yes, not connecting to the internet at all is the safest. Realistically, if you keep a firewall(your home router in most caes) and block incoming ports, you should be safe. There are people still running WinXP for fun and they don't get random malwares out of nowhere. Just don't download anything weird. But anyway, I don't recommend regular Win10, just switch to IoT LTSC :)
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the answers!
I heard I might have some metadata issues due to it being a reverse-enginereed version, I assume in your experience that didn't happen?
So I assume I should still check for compatibility before running something that opens other files, I guess?
Understood, 21H2 and 2021 are two names for the same thing, correct?
Yeah, the options are in order of preference so of course regular W10 would be the worst option, I asked just in case I didn't manage to activate LTSC in time (by the way, are there any downsides to activating it with massgrave and the others compared to buying a key from... certain sites? It's relatively cheap so I wouldn't mind but if it's exactly the same I might as well save some bucks)
not sure exactly what metadata you mean, i don't really know well about NTFS's advanced features. i just tend to have some version of windows installed in another partition or a drive and ocasionally copy files from and to it, never had any issues. ntfs-3g is a bit slow tho due to being FUSE.
the winehq compatibility db is outdated in some cases, so it's best to just try for yourself and see if it runs ok. if it doesn't work well, it would usually be very obvious. (crashes, glitches, etc)
yes LTSC 2021 and 21H2 is the same thing
massgrave generates a legit activation ticket unlike the old windows hacktivation methods like KMS (KMS haktivators used to run a local activation server baiscally). so it even auto activates after reinstalling just like a legit key. no downsides other than the fact it's not "legal", but that's the same for those sketchy keys since they are also usually violations of Micro$oft EULA.
Mostly the common user-facing properties stuff like date created/modified/taken, did everything get saved/transferred correctly or is it just something you didn't personally care about?
afaik (i could be wrong) there's only modification time for files on linux. it did seem to show properly. as far as i remember the ntfs permission (file owner, etc) wasn't being shown properly (all just showed as my user?), but it could just be a mount option.
LTSC
huh?
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC. It's the long term support version of W10. It's made for company so it receives minimum updates and is set to receive updates until 2032, if memory serves. With some minor tweaks, it works just like standard Windows 10, allowing you to keep using everything you're accustomed to without giving in to the telemetry bullshit.
I literally explained that in the comment above, just replying "LTSC" and then explaining that to me adds nothing to the discussion. what's the point?
Oh shit. No idea how I managed it, but my comment was supposed to be a response to the original post, not your comment. I didn't bother looking at the context the last time I responded to you so I didn't notice. Sorry about that.