]]> http://blog.superuser.com/2013/10/23/what-to-do-after-buying-a-new-laptop/#comment-2113309 Mon, 28 Apr 2014 17:59:34 +0000 http://blog.superuser.com/?p=5526#comment-2113309 It took me some time to get here since published, but here are my two cents:

1. Start it with Gparted, Acronis Disk Director or similar from CD/USB.
2. Wipe all drive partitions.
3. Install Ubuntu, provisioning different system & data partitions.
4. Follow Superuser’s directions but using software for Linux instead of Windows.

Not teasing: it’s just I don’t trust the Windows environment anymore.

No, it’s not Hennes, it’s Michał Herman

And now to something completely different… – and without any flaming: Getting rid of preinstalled software can get you money back, examples are not only Windows, but Outlook (Express), Video playback software and even those games because you paid for them before/without signing the license agreement, and you have the right to give them back (refunded), if you don’t agree with that. of course it doesn’t bring you the “box price”, but may sum up to a reasonable refund – I know about a documented case of round 120$.

Nice blog, btw.!

]]> http://blog.superuser.com/2013/10/23/what-to-do-after-buying-a-new-laptop/#comment-905950 Sat, 02 Nov 2013 02:09:30 +0000 http://blog.superuser.com/?p=5526#comment-905950 The first three steps can (should?) be replaced by “Install your favorite variant of GNU/Linux”.

]]> http://blog.superuser.com/2013/10/23/what-to-do-after-buying-a-new-laptop/#comment-897661 Wed, 30 Oct 2013 21:57:20 +0000 http://blog.superuser.com/?p=5526#comment-897661 You guys forgot: review privacy settings and disconnect the built-in cloud services you are unlikely to ever use.

]]> http://blog.superuser.com/2013/10/23/what-to-do-after-buying-a-new-laptop/#comment-883369 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 02:53:47 +0000 http://blog.superuser.com/?p=5526#comment-883369 You forgot “install Gentoo”.

]]> http://blog.superuser.com/2013/10/23/what-to-do-after-buying-a-new-laptop/#comment-880120 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 12:31:27 +0000 http://blog.superuser.com/?p=5526#comment-880120 I have to contest your security software advice. I’ve often found that it is in fact Norton and AVG that “make your computer run at a turtle’s pace”. I’m not sure what the best course of action is, though, but I can think of three guidelines:

1. In your web browser, enable click-to-play for all plug-ins. If you want, you can whitelist sites with an outstanding reputation for security, like YouTube.

   In many web browser-based attacks, usually one of these three pieces of software are part of the problem: Adobe’s Flash plug-in, Adobe’s PDF Reader plug-in, and Oracle’s Java applet plug-in. They are often used in so-called ‘drive-by attacks’.

   To further shield yourself from these attacks, you can take the following additional steps:

   a. Uninstall Adobe Reader. Get other software to read PDF files, like Foxit Reader or Sumatra. b. Disable or even uninstall the Java applet plug-in. It’s distinct from Java Runtime Environment, which (sadly) you probably still need for a bunch of software.

2. Do not run untrusted software. Did you receive a file through e-mail or chat? Good for you. Did the file name end in exe or com? Don’t run it. If you don’t know whether to trust software or not, assume it’s untrusted.

   Also, tell Windows to not hide known extensions.

3. Always run updates. Seriously. Run Windows updates. Let Java update itself. Update iTunes. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, just do it.

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