Realistic Timeline for Learning Linux

[CrazedNerd]

I've had one virus using Windows OSs and I let that one in because I didn't know about opening email attachments and BAM it was too late.

Lesson learned never happened again.

Nothing is bullet proof and if you don't use common sense and have smart web habits then well ya learn by doing BAM it's too late.

Anyone who reads anything on any forum and believes it to be the set standard without checking it out first well all I can say is they're a trusting soul.

Trust nothing you read without checking it out first. I don't do you.

I don't care what OS anyone uses and I don't try to convert anyone from the OS they are using to a different OS.

I don't care what OS anyone uses.

What works for me is just that works for me.

What works for others is just that what works for others.

Most folks who have bad guys take over their computers is because they don't keep their computers updated and the protection against bad guys up to date.

Anything anyone reads and decides to use from this forum or any forum is at their own risk plain and simple.

I'm a computer user not a computer guru and I use different OSs and if no one else agrees with my choices that's fine you don't have to.

No ill feelings towards anyone nor am I throwing rocks at anyone.

We all have different tastes and make different choices and no one is an authority imo.

See Ya.

Nuh uh! Theres no way you had just one virus/malware when using windows

 

[Deleted member 137406]

I've had one virus using Windows OSs and I let that one in because I didn't know about opening email attachments and BAM it was too late.

Nuh uh! Theres no way you had just one virus/malware when using windows

Uh huh!

 

[MikeWalsh]

I find that strange about Linux users being "refused" access to websites because of their OS. In almost a decade of running Linux, most of that with Puppy, I've never yet had any issues with accessing on-line banking, OR any of the several government websites I occasionally need to visit.

Perhaps the UK gov't are less strict about such things, but I DO know they no longer religiously insist on Windows and nothing else. It used to be the case years ago - remember how many sites used to be "optimized" for Windows Explorer? (summat to do with the 'ActiveX' stuff, IIRC) - but hasn't been for pretty much the last decade or so.

Even the banks are way less fussy than they formerly were. They don't care what browser you use.....but the one universal standard they ALL adhere to is that the browser - whatever it is - should be up-to-date. Beyond that, it no longer matters what you use to access websites. Not here in the UK, at any rate.


Mike.

 

[CrazedNerd]

I find that strange about Linux users being "refused" access to websites because of their OS

Me too, it has never happened to me before.

But in the UK do you ever encounter a situation where you feel a bureaucracy does something which makes no sense? Certainly blocking a computer from accessing a website because they are using a better OS is that in my book...

 

[Brickwizard]

I have had problems on several British websites local and national government sites [sometimes I can get the main page, but they will not let you complete forms,] the everyday sites' car tax, environment, tax office etc they have been ok for the last few years, some of the more "sensitive" sites still give problems occasionally,

 

[MikeWalsh]

Me too, it has never happened to me before.

But in the UK do you ever encounter a situation where you feel a bureaucracy does something which makes no sense? Certainly blocking a computer from accessing a website because they are using a better OS is that in my book...

Oh, all the time, mate. Nothing a bureaucrat does ever makes the slightest bit of sense.....except, perhaps, to other bureaucrats (and similarly like-minded people).

These folks inhabit their own little fantasy world, one governed by rules & regulations, where everybody immediately complies with exactly what they're told to do, when they're told to do it. If only......

Hah!


Mike.

 

[MikeWalsh]

@Brickwizard :-

I suspect that many of those afore-mentioned "awkward" sites are probably the very ones that used to be "optimized" for Internet Exploder's ActiveX crap. Many of these same sites are only just now being gradually re-written to comply with global web standards, since IE is now officially extinct.


Mike.

 

[sphen]

I find that strange about Linux users being "refused" access to websites because of their OS.

Not me. I have seen those website behaviors before, usually in the financial services sector. Some of them display a warning, others will refuse access entirely. Just for grins, I ran tests with virtual machines on a major financial services website that I know. (Sorry, but I will not disclose the name of the company on a public forum because I use their services.) The interesting test is macOS 10.12 at the bottom of the list.

WARNING, PLEASE READ:
-> Do not repeat these tests unless you understand the security implications of what you are doing. These old operating systems and old browsers are obsolete and vulnerable to many kinds of infections and attacks. The associated OS and browser sources will NEVER release security updates for them, and their vulnerabilities are well-known. You should never use these old operating systems and old browsers for any kind of personal or production use. Testing should be performed with extreme caution. Is that perfectly clear?

• OS: Windows XP, Browser: Internet Explorer
  • Refused access or other compatibility issue. Nothing displayed, no message.
• OS: Windows 7, Browser: Internet Explorer
  • Refused access or other compatibility issue
    • In this case, I saw the main page and was able to login, but then it refused access, kinda' sorta'. What happened was that it blocked the page and displayed an SSL error message from the website. Apparently, IE runs SSL, and the website insists on TLS 1.0 (not secure!) or better.
• OS: Windows 7, Browser: Edge
  • No issues, no warning.
• OS: Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard", Browser: Safari
  • Refused access or other compatibility issue. Nothing displayed, no message.
• OS: macOS 10.12 "Sierra", Browser: Safari
  • -> Displays banner warning that browser is out of date and should be upgraded.
  • Despite the warning, I saw no issues or problems.

Sorry, I do not have old Linux VMs handy, and did not feel like downloading and going through full installs to test them. Just for grins and because this is Linux.org, here is a current OS and browser test:

• OS: Linux Mint 21.1 "Vera", Browser: Firefox
  • No issues, no warning.

In theory, you should be able to "hack" your browser to provide false information about your platform to trick it, but keep in mind that those warnings and refusals are there to protect the security of your account and financial assets.

-> Many websites refuse access if you are using an ad blocker. Probably not financial ones. I see it often enough with websites that display ads, such as news websites. Often you see nothing but an empty page.

 

[f33dm3bits]

In theory, you should be able to "hack" your browser to provide false information about your platform to trick it, but keep in mind that those warnings and refusals are there to protect the security of your account and financial assets.

You can with a user-agent spoofer and they exist as browser addons.

User-Agent Switcher and Manager â Get this Extension for ð¦ Firefox (en-US)

Download User-Agent Switcher and Manager for Firefox. Spoof websites trying to gather information about your web navigation—like your browser type and operating system—to deliver distinct content you may not want.

addons.mozilla.org

 

[CrazedNerd]

Not me. I have seen those website behaviors before, usually in the financial services sector. Some of them display a warning, others will refuse access entirely. Just for grins, I ran tests with virtual machines on a major financial services website that I know. (Sorry, but I will not disclose the name of the company on a public forum because I use their services.) The interesting test is macOS 10.12 at the bottom of the list.

WARNING, PLEASE READ:
-> Do not repeat these tests unless you understand the security implications of what you are doing. These old operating systems and old browsers are obsolete and vulnerable to many kinds of infections and attacks. The associated OS and browser sources will NEVER release security updates for them, and their vulnerabilities are well-known. You should never use these old operating systems and old browsers for any kind of personal or production use. Testing should be performed with extreme caution. Is that perfectly clear?

• OS: Windows XP, Browser: Internet Explorer
  • Refused access or other compatibility issue. Nothing displayed, no message.
• OS: Windows 7, Browser: Internet Explorer
  • Refused access or other compatibility issue
    • In this case, I saw the main page and was able to login, but then it refused access, kinda' sorta'. What happened was that it blocked the page and displayed an SSL error message from the website. Apparently, IE runs SSL, and the website insists on TLS 1.0 (not secure!) or better.
• OS: Windows 7, Browser: Edge
  • No issues, no warning.
• OS: Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard", Browser: Safari
  • Refused access or other compatibility issue. Nothing displayed, no message.
• OS: macOS 10.12 "Sierra", Browser: Safari
  • -> Displays banner warning that browser is out of date and should be upgraded.
  • Despite the warning, I saw no issues or problems.

Sorry, I do not have old Linux VMs handy, and did not feel like downloading and going through full installs to test them. Just for grins and because this is Linux.org, here is a current OS and browser test:

• OS: Linux Mint 21.1 "Vera", Browser: Firefox
  • No issues, no warning.

In theory, you should be able to "hack" your browser to provide false information about your platform to trick it, but keep in mind that those warnings and refusals are there to protect the security of your account and financial assets.

-> Many websites refuse access if you are using an ad blocker. Probably not financial ones. I see it often enough with websites that display ads, such as news websites. Often you see nothing but an empty page.

The main takeaway is that bother your browser and OS matter, and there are so many different banks that one might decide to refuse your browser/OS for some reason.