New to Ubuntu (Linux, installed, Windows, work)

[nezlie]

I just installed Ubuntu 12.10 using the Windows installer. It went pretty smooth, and I didn't encounter any problems. As a newbie to Ubuntu, I'll be posting some basic questions. Here are some that I have right now:

1. How often can I expect new releases? Will I have to do a manual update when 12.11 comes out or can I have it done automically?

2. Is an antivirus needed or not? If it is, any recommendations?

[dkf747]

1. I would not want it automatically, however, when doing other updates, it should tell you when the upgrade is available.

2. No need for antivirus software.

[jetgraphics]

Originally Posted by nezlie

Is an antivirus needed or not? If it is, any recommendations?

[] Do not re-install Windoze.

[fastninja500]

Originally Posted by nezlie

I just installed Ubuntu 12.10 using the Windows installer. It went pretty smooth, and I didn't encounter any problems. As a newbie to Ubuntu, I'll be posting some basic questions. Here are some that I have right now:

1. How often can I expect new releases? Will I have to do a manual update when 12.11 comes out or can I have it done automically?

There won't be a "12.11". Unless it's changed, Ubuntu versioning use the year.month they are released. So your Ubuntu 12.10 was released on 2012.October. The next version will be 13.whatever month they release it. Most likely 13.04 (April, 2013).

When you're using Ubuntu, you'll be prompted accordingly if there are updates available. When there's a major release (like a LTS version), you may even wipe out the old version and install the new version.

It might be a good idea to save all your user data files in another drive or partition. This way, even if you wipe out the old Ubuntu version and install a new one, all your data can be easily found. Keep in mind that from Ubuntu, you can see/use the files in the Windows partition (if you dual boot Windows and Ubuntu). For Windows to access files on the Ubuntu partition, you'll have to install some utility software. For more file security, you may want to keep your files in the Linux partition.

Here's more info on Ubuntu releases- https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LTS

As you'll see, if you want the most stable release with long term support, you'll probably want the LTS version. If you want the version with the latest and greatest features, then get the intermediate release.

Ubuntu has a funky way of naming their releases - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases

Originally Posted by nezlie

2. Is an antivirus needed or not? If it is, any recommendations?

Not really. Being protected by a firewall (say, from your router) is normally sufficient. But it wouldn't be a bad idea either.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Antivirus

More notes on Security - https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Security


Honestly, if you really want to learn and leverage Ubuntu in particular (and Linux in general), you'd be much better off joining some "Ubuntu Forums". You'll learn much more in these forums.

There's even an "Absolute Beginner's" section - Absolute Beginners Section.

The more you read through the forums, the more familiar you'll be with the vernacular. The more familiar you are with the terminology, the easier it will be understand. Who knows? Once you get familiar with Ubuntu Linux, you might become more adventurous and venture into the more techy Linux distributions.

Explore the Software Centre and see how easy it is to download/install.

If you like Ubuntu / Linux, please consider contributing your time and effort or donating money.

Welcome to the dark side ... the world of fast and secure computing!

[nezlie]

Proceeding slowly through those links fastninja500 posted. I found a problem with my hide launcher feature today. After setting it up, when I hover over on the left side to make it re-appear it doesn't re-appear. Google it and saw that many have had this problem. Haven't found a solution yet.

Thanks again for all the responses!!

[ahigherway]

I use Ubuntu Studio, Bodhi Linux and AntiX. No need for anti-virus, since viruses mostly work on Windows, and need administrative priviledges. Linux requires you to put your password in order to do administrative things, so viruses can't activate. And, even if they could, they would only affect your home folder, not your system files.

You can do something neat: go to your Synaptic Package manager and type "ufw" (no quotes) in the search bar. If it's not installed, install it. Then open a terminal and type: "sudo ufw enable" (no quotes) and hit enter, then put your password and hit enter. Now you have a firewall that makes you feel safer.


Peace.
brian