Linux Mint is IMO easier (and comes with flash 😜).

d1stortion wrote:

If you want a good old no-frills OS for modern use there is 2000. Has almost the same great UI but with the much better NT kernel... the server version even supports quadcores

I used to agree with this but I think there are no more security updates for 2000, Google Chrome didn't want to install (don't know if there is a workaround) and most RAM usage comes from the browser anyway so there is not much point in choosing 2000 over XP for this purpose. (If you want to use a low-spec machine and just do some word processing or similar it would be fine, you still can use USB devices.)

If you want a secure, lightweight OS for websurfing, don't bother with Windows. Instead, give Linux a try. Some of my favorite distros are Crunchbang and Fedora, though a lot of people swear by Ubuntu or Mint. Myself, I think Ubuntu is bloated and not very power user friendly, but that's just my opinion.

Security updates are overrated. They're a great scare tactic for Microsoft to push people into "upgrading" though. Viruses are usually a personal problem. 😀
Just use a NAT firewall, don't enable unnecessary scripting nonsense, and if you want to be really safe, log in as a restricted user. I do 2 of those 3 things and get by fine with an old Firefox on WinXP.
If you really are worried about updates, the browser matters a lot more than the OS, at least if all the crazy scripting is allowed to run amok.

Linux Mint is pretty easy to set up, if it likes your hardware anyway. It includes some important added components that other distros don't include for their religious/political reasons.

It HAS to be Windows. Its not about Linux being a better option, its about finding a windows thats best suited for this.

So far XP has the best score. I recently found out that Microsoft Security essentials also work on XP.

Stojke wrote:

I recently found out that Microsoft Security essentials also work on XP.

It does, although I recently ran into a strange problem with somebody's computer where I had installed it. It said it was "Cleaning" and occupied a full CPU worth of processor time, constantly. It was doing that for a couple days until I forced the software to run a full scan. That fixed it.
I don't know how often that happens, but if it's glitchy like that it could get irritating.
I would also assume that when Microsoft decides to stop "supporting" XP, MSE will get cut off.

Oh i see, so best alternatives are either bought Anti Virus software. I used to use Avast a lot on XP but ever since it introduced that sand box thing it started treating every 2nd exe as an threat and it would almost always when that occurred block the system and i had to hard restart.
Tried other AVs as well, from Avira to AVG to Zone Alarm. Avira used to mess up the computer some how, it just wont boot after some time. Dont know if that happened to any body else, but it used to happen to me. AVG gets slower and slower.
Didnt use ZA Anti Virus for that long to have an impression.

The problem with free versions of anti-virus software is that you don't always get the latest updates in a timely manner like you would if you were a paying customer so you are left vulnerable until they see fit to make the new virus definitions available to free users. Right now the only two anti-virus programs that are worth a damn are BitDefender and Kaspersky. There is nothing that gets by either of them.

MSE seems fine to me, I just had that one issue with it and I don't expect it will be updated on XP much longer.
I don't know what's available out there but if I had to use an antivirus, I'd use something that only runs when you explicitly load it up and command it to scan a particular file. Personally I dislike "real time protection". Some antivirus programs are almost as bad as having a virus.

It seems like it's been a long time since I've heard about any virus activity. Malware and spyware seem to be where it's at these days. (An unpatched Windows XP or Windows 2000 installation may still susceptible to spontaneous infection, though.) By the time MSE stops being supported on XP, I might just stop bothering with an up-to-date virus scanner entirely.

I agree that for now, nothing lower than XP is worth bothering with as far as browsing is concerned. I guess WinFLP is also okay, but I'm not sure the performance tradeoff is worth whatever subtle compatibility issues it may introduce, especially considering that a computer fully capable of running XP isn't particularly expensive anymore.

shamino wrote:

MSE seems fine to me, I just had that one issue with it and I don't expect it will be updated on XP much longer.
I don't know what's available out there but if I had to use an antivirus, I'd use something that only runs when you explicitly load it up and command it to scan a particular file. Personally I dislike "real time protection". Some antivirus programs are almost as bad as having a virus.

Real time protection is only an issue when you're running it on a low power machine. On my laptop (single core Athlon Neo), it can max the CPU usage pretty easily during times of high activity and bog the whole thing down to a crawl. On my Phenom II x4 desktop, it doesn't even make a blip in my CPU usage.

Stojke wrote:

It HAS to be Windows. Its not about Linux being a better option, its about finding a windows thats best suited for this.

So far XP has the best score. I recently found out that Microsoft Security essentials also work on XP.

MS Security Essentials won't work on Server editions or WinFLP, for example. But you can download the trial version of Forefront Client Security and use it for as long as you want.

It may sound strange, but it's true. Forefront does not include a serial number, so it's impossible for Microsoft to detect that your trial period has expired. In fact, the trial version of the client component is binarily identical to the commercial version. When you download the trial you're really getting the full version without any limitations.

Here's the link if you're interested:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter … id=TEC_105_1_33

You don't need to install the server if you don't want. The client package is the only thing you need. It's called "SCEPInstall.exe" (size is about 24 MB).

Regards.

I can attest to the fact that win98 is out. I had to quit using it - I was down to an old version of Firefox or Opera - which was giving me all kinds of security certificate errors. My solution was to to Linux for an internet box.

I see, well this sums up quite a lot of my questions. Thanks for your time every one 😀

memsys wrote:

If the only use is going to be browsing the internet then why NOT use Linux OpenSUSE is incredibly easy to install. you may need […]
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If the only use is going to be browsing the internet then why NOT use Linux
OpenSUSE is incredibly easy to install. you may need to install flash but that would be everything. Then all you would need to do is click on the firefox icon on the taskbar.
OpenSUSE is not that light but there are plenty of light Linux distros. A list can be found here LINK Puppy Linux is probably the most interesting (claimed to be easy to use, small and light)

and if you have a problem with win 8 and searching your hard drive then Ubuntu is not for you. you might want to read this LINK.

If you are hell-bent on using windows don't bother with anything older then XP because of lack of support(updates to fix security holes).

Also it would help if you would be more specific on what hardware you are going to use.

Having ads display in a web browser MIGHT be acceptable but having the operating system display them with no way of turning them off is not. Can you imagine the size of the security hole? Someone can slip malicious code into your machine disguised as a banner ad or some other kind of ad.

ncmark wrote:

I can attest to the fact that win98 is out. I had to quit using it - I was down to an old version of Firefox or Opera - which was giving me all kinds of security certificate errors. My solution was to to Linux for an internet box.

You can use later version browsers and anti-virus software under Win98 using kernelex.