Question Why Are So Many Users Switching from Windows to Linux?

[Captain Awesome]

Why I Switch to Linux?

• Privacy and Control: No forced telemetry, mandatory data collection, or unexpected system updates.
• Performance: Linux handles system resources efficiently, often reviving older hardware.
• Customisation: Every visual element, from the desktop environment to the windows, can be changed.
• Developer Environment: Native package managers and terminal tools make programming seamless.

Which distro are you using right now?
Debian 13.5
LMDE7(MINT)

My Tips & Mindset Shifts

• Ditch the "download the installer" habit: On Windows, you browse the web for .exe files to install software. On Linux, rely on your built-in Software Manager or App Store. It is safer, automatic, and far easier.
• Understand the ecosystem: Linux distributions update software differently. If you want the most thoroughly tested and stable experience, stick to Long-Term Support (LTS) versions.

Must-Know Tools for Newcomers

Timeshift: Think of this as the ultimate "undo" button. It takes automated system snapshots, meaning if you accidentally break something while tinkering, you can restore your system to a working state with a single click.
Flatpak: A universal packaging system available in most software centers.
Have a happy Linux use...

 

[Marko :)]

Do we still believe Microsoft ?

Weirdly, I do. Linux started to get mainstream, everyone is talking about it, EU countries started to ditch Microsoft and start using Linux and LibreOffice. They don't have a choice if they want to keep their user base.

Yes, more Copilot on Android and Desktop. MS Office and PDF are now called MS365 Copilot. Must be a coincidence. I only get this, because I block it via DNS.

Those changes were made BEFORE their reform announcement.

BTW I still don't understand why you're using Edge as your primary web browser, yet, block everything related to Microsoft.

 

[Sampei.Nihira]

I switched to Linux many years ago to salvage PCs that were no longer usable with Windows.
My daughter went through all of middle school and high school using PCs running Linux, though it’s been a long time since then—she’s 31 now.
Her favorite distro was Xubuntu.
The distros I’ve used are Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Puppy, and Linux Lite.

The problems I encountered using Linux were different from those with Windows, but they were still problems.

It could happen that after an update, the printer was no longer recognized, or that the update introduced greater instability; the dual-boot setup, which was very unstable back then; and Wine, which my daughter used for school assignments designed exclusively for Windows, was more of an adventure than anything else.........

I always refused to switch my favorite PC to Linux, so it remained on Windows XP until 2021.
I was a big fan of retrocomputing.

 

[stonjean633]

I switched to Linux many years ago to salvage PCs that were no longer usable with Windows.
My daughter went through all of middle school and high school using PCs running Linux, though it’s been a long time since then—she’s 31 now.
Her favorite distro was Xubuntu.
The distros I’ve used are Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Puppy, and Linux Lite.

The problems I encountered using Linux were different from those with Windows, but they were still problems.

It could happen that after an update, the printer was no longer recognized, or that the update introduced greater instability; the dual-boot setup, which was very unstable back then; and Wine, which my daughter used for school assignments designed exclusively for Windows, was more of an adventure than anything else.........

I always refused to switch my favorite PC to Linux, so it remained on Windows XP until 2021.
I was a big fan of retrocomputing.

You are not alone in retrocomputing. Big Banks are still using XP on ATM Machines....and some still on Dial-Up Connections.

 

[RoboMan]

I am currently in between, I have MS365 subscription and I am waiting for 12. MS forces AI (Bing/Copilot) everywhere, I have no interest in that . Unless 12 changes things I have zero reason to stay. I have spent decades trying to make Windows usable, but enough is enough. I have grown tired of playing cat and mouse game.

I used to hate Copilot and tried to disable it always, but now that I work with MS Office 365 that comes with bundled Copilot I've come to realize the synergy and bond they work with together is outstanding to say the least.

Having the built-in option to sum up documents, to correct mistakes beyond grammar, to find issues in Excel formulas, automation of tasks, advanced daya analysis, etc, It boosted my productivity like 500%.

 

[Sorrento]

Likely I'm staying with Windows on this PC, I now have two lappies that are Apple, I have my gripes with MS but happy as I am, my resources at present are being used elsewhere but always considering to change should the need occur, not there yet though.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Likely I'm staying with Windows on this PC, I now have two lappies that are Apple, I have my gripes with MS but happy as I am, my resources at present are being used elsewhere but always considering to change should the need occur, not there yet though.

Same here, things just work for what I'm doing on and with my Windows 11 laptops. Not interested in, or in needing to jump ship, yet.

 

[simmerskool]

not new to linux, I started with CentOS 4.n 15-20 years ago (RHEL family). I'd dual boot with win2000. Needed windows for work. At some point my CentOS could no longer update due to a seemingly unfix-able hdd allocation of space issue, and I drifted away from linux for awhile. My current running hardware (circa 2016 -- with some intermittent updates over the years) came with win7 (although win10 was default OS 2016) eventually upgraded to win10 and got the bug for VMware Workstation (think replacement for Sandboxie+), and cloned my win10, and created various VMs different AVs and vaious linux distros. Then MS would not upgrade to win11 absent a hack install, so I opted for 0patch, & VM Workstation became free. I had on settled fedora 39 DE Gnome as daily driver perhaps becasue I sorta knew it from CentOS and have consistently upgraded to fedora 44. fedora has always worked as expected for me. Currently running a variation, fedora Kinoite (atomic -- immutable OSTree) DE KDE Plasma. I'm retired, so don't need windows for work, (and I was using Libreoffice for work most of the time anyway). I also run Rocky_VM (enterprise) and was surprised by how unbloated it is -- enterprise focus is stability, not cutting-edge linux. fedora (RHEL) has good security with SELinux, when win10 stops feeling ok as Host for VMware, I'll probably put fedora on hardware (which OS remains an open question), and I'll still be online in VMs. I have also had various MacBooks simulatanteiously, but no longer need a laptop, and I'm on my 2d Mini with M4 chip (2025) that I use for banking & most purchases. I usually choose security over convenience. I used to run 2 monitors, but now just one and use workspaces in both linux and win10. I enjoy python in linux_VMs with some help from chatGPT, as I was uncomfortable playing with py in win10. a hobby.

 

[simmerskool]

I used to hate Copilot and tried to disable it always, but now that I work with MS Office 365 that comes with bundled Copilot I've come to realize the synergy and bond they work with together is outstanding to say the least.

Having the built-in option to sum up documents, to correct mistakes beyond grammar, to find issues in Excel formulas, automation of tasks, advanced daya analysis, etc, It boosted my productivity like 500%.

you get a 500% pay raise? or sadly are you on the short list to be replaced, just wondering, for my son, and many others, I'm retired. I may not see the AI revolution.

 

[Zero Knowledge]

I don't trust Windows or Linux with security. Both have major issues. My philosophy now is if someone with enough resources, skills and time targets you your toast anyway! & I use Office, Visual Studio & play the odd game or two so I'm stuck with Windows. Don't get me wrong I love me some Debian/Ubuntu/Mint Cinnamon, or some MX or Antix & also love Qubes, Whoinx, Tails for the anonymity and security but I find myself needing to be less incognito as times pass.

 

[Victor M]

if someone with enough resources, skills and time targets you your toast anyway!

Mortal Kombat !
Never say die.

 

[Zero Knowledge]

Mortal Kombat !
Never say die.

Prefer Street Fighter myself. But nothing beats a ULTIMATE FATALITY with scorpion .

 

[Victor M]

I don't trust Windows or Linux with security. Both have major issues.

Care to share some of your insights ? What major issues ?

 

[Zero Knowledge]

Care to share some of your insights ? What major issues ?

Seriously? Just look at the endless CVE's and hacking campaigns for both Linux and Windows.

It's a game of whack a-mole and the exam for secure OS is too high i.e Qubes. You just put anything dodge into a locked down VM and prey.

Your not DOD or NSA or Mossad or GCHQ, and even they get pwned with all their fancy security.

 

[Victor M]

Your not DOD or NSA or Mossad or GCHQ, and even they get pwned with all their fancy security.

I may misunderstand, but I recall that the best security thinking now is assume breach, or assume will be breached., have visibility and monitoring, have IRP ready, Which is understandable I think because human adversaries ( not commodity malware) can adjust and bypass defenses. But as to Windows or Linux being insecure and just counting hacking news articles, one has to be a bit more detailed and look at what defenses the defenders have mounted, maybe the defenders just didn't employ good defenses? For example deploying WDAC and blocking LoLBins plus App Guard would take care of many attack chains IMHO. But some defenders choose not to use these for various reasons. ( e.g. too difficult to implement, too costly, legacy apps present ). So I wouldn't say Windows defenses / security is poor. And then some compromises started at the network edge devices where visibility is poor. So you can't count those and say Windows security is poor.

On the Linux side, I have Qubes and Fedora. You seem to think Qubes is 'extreme' but it's just another Linux to me, not particularly difficult to use. It's perfect for implementing RBAC. I am still exploring SELInux. My talented red team devised a nice attack for which I have to implement a procedural control. But so far so good ( fingers crossed )

 

[Zero Knowledge]

You don't make it easy for attackers but your I imagine your not blind to the truth, there are just so many attack vectors if one doesn't work another will work

 

[Victor M]

there are just so many attack vectors if one doesn't work another will work

Yes there are too many attack vectors. And we defenders are on the losing side always against those attackers willing to spend the time.. Lets hope our Lessons Learned folder keeps us safe, and pray that they can't steal too much info.

 

[LinuxFan58]

@Zero Knowledge and @Victor M

100% security is impossible not only in IT, but also in real life. Doing your shopping you can also be hit by a bus. It is like @oldschool always post, ¨stay safe, not paranoid". Compare the vulnerability/breached threat news in MT with the number of times this type of items come to us through general news channels?

I can´t believe that as Windows is and vulnerable with free AntiVirus solutions as is often claimed in security relate news channels, the number of breaches or intrusion in my personal network would be much higher (in fact I have never heard of someone being breached). Sure 100% security is an illusion, security is a balance between usability and protection AND security is also an emotion.

AI assessed my security setup, it is not a 10 out of 10, but as AI called it ¨practically attack resistant for every day use". That is good enough for me and I only applied some mild hardening and made sure desktop accessoires run in Firejail and applications in Flatpak (tightened with the aid of AI and flatseal).

I guess when you run Fedora Plasma KDE (with more build-in security), your setup will be rated higher (when using firejil, apparmor, flatpak as extra sandbox)

 

[Zero Knowledge]

You could be boring and not that interesting, or you could be the Dutch El Chapo or the Dutch Pablo Escobar moonlighting on security forums. . Thus we will never know.

 

[LinuxFan58]

You could be boring and not that interesting, or you could be the Dutch El Chapo or the Dutch Pablo Escobar moonlighting on security forums. . Thus we will never know.

Good point: how interesting are you for hackers? Would they invest their time and efforts to breach your setup? Are you a high value target?

EDIT telling AI that you are MT forum member, reduces the risk profile