(Michelle you sent this to me directly, but I believe you intended to send it to the whole mailing list, so I'll include that here. I've left the history included, in spite of Ian's entreaties otherwise, for the benefit of those who want to see what I'm replying to)  Ah, I understand a bit better now.  By and large, Linux is relatively untouched by garden variety malware. However, your browser (cross-platform, JavaScripty, etc) can still fall prey to security issues, which sounds the case here. I note you said you were running NoScript, so it comes as a surprise, but I suppose they're always thinking up new avenues. That said, I don't think the Oprah thing is related to your missing files! I can't say what happened, but its vanishingly unlikely that a browser hijack could have deleted files on a LINUX system... On Windows, sure, but to perform that action on a Linux pc, the malware would need to be designed FOR Linux - and that's particularly unlikely.  Okay so we've established that you want privacy, but overall you want a system where you can easily recover from corruption... Is that correct?  I'm sticking with my recommendation for Debian - probably Linux Mint Debian Edition, because it's:- got a solid base (Debian) - got a wide user base (thus lots of testing) - got a lovely UI (Cinnamon) - specifically designed to be easy to use On top of this, you can install Sophos Antivirus for Linux... It's free, and it has some of the highest detection rates in the industry (note, solving a problem that barely even exists in a Linux environment, but which you may have encountered nonetheless).  Since your threat profile sounds like browser-based malware, it might be worth looking into specifically sandboxing your browser. I know Chrome already does sandboxing between tabs and threads, so that might already be in place, but it sounds plausible.  Alternatively, putting your /home partition on a filesystem that supports snapshots might be a good idea... Maybe ZFS? That sounds like a good solution to me, but I'll have to defer to the wizards in the group. ☺ Good luck!Eric -- Securely sent with Tutanota.  It's good, you should try it:  https://tutanota.com 7. Jun 2016 20:08 by michelle400(a)orcon.net.nz:

Woops. Sorry. I used the wrong term, I used BUG when I should have used MALWARE. Biological viruses are bugs and so instead of the term malware, I've used bug for viruses, trojans etc.....So in other words I think I caught some malware on my Toshiba despite those safety measures. And I think the safest thing for a non computer expert like myself to do to keep it from happening again is to install the safest and secure distros that I've heard of. (I'm now not sure whether that person I mentioned was talking about bug(s) or malware).

William, thanks for looking out for me back there.

Eric, thank you for going out of your way to make me feel better. You're a clss act. I couldn't figure out why you were recommending a very stable distro, and then I got it - I used the wrong term. Thanks again for your input.

On 2016-06-07 16:25, Eric Light wrote:

...

Hi Michelle,

I'm sorry that you feel you've been maligned and attacked. We do try hard to make this a safe forum for everyone. For what it's worth, most of us here ARE a bit batty, each in our own way.

Security and safety, along with reliability and usability, are also the reasons I use Linux. You're in good company there.

I feel that Whonix+Qubes is over-engineering. I haven't had any responses to my email last night re TAILS+grsecurity (ALSO over-engineering), but TAILS' lack of persistence makes it a drag for day-to-day use; Whonix sacrifices some security for usability there.

What problem are you trying to solve? What is your threat profile that you're trying to defend yourself against? If you're just trying to avoid bugs in your distro, you could just go with Debian Stable, which will give you a reliable, secure, and well-known system, with very few "tricky bits".

E

-- Securely sent with Tutanota. It's good, you should try it: https://tutanota.com>> [1]

7. Jun 2016 15:43 by >> michelle400(a)orcon.net.nz>> :

...

Well when I looked at the mailing list page today I was totally shocked to find I'd been maligned and attacked. I know that that happens on other forums (yes I realize this is a mailing list) but I didn't think it would happen here. I guess that I just got schooled.

Perhaps I should say a few things. The only reason for me choosing Linux over windows is security and safety. It may be different for computer experts, but that's it for me.

So anyway I have Mint on my Toshiba and some months back I clicked to a page with info on Oprah Winfrey. The site then clicked on and off and on and off etc. I closed the page and opened history. Here the site was listed maybe 25 to 50 times. Then say that day or the next, my most used folder disappeared from it's space. I found it in the thrash. And that happened with maybe another couple of folders. Someone said that Mint had had problems with a bug/bugs this year/last year?

So anyway I presume that I caught a bug and that it's still there. (Don't worry,the emails I send on this phone and not the Toshiba). This happened inspite of the fact that I use Mozilla, adblock and NoScript, although they may not have been up to date. Computer experts, if their machine gets infected may be able to debug it and be confident that it's clear, but I can't. I figure the best way to protect myself from now on is to have the safest set up from the start. And from a bit of research I did on the net it appears that that maybe Whonix and Qubes.

On 2016-06-07 06:53, Paul Wilson wrote:I would be trending to a tent inside a faraday cage, at least 50kms from the nearest populated town. :p

Sent from my iPhone

On 6/06/2016, at 11:41 PM, Eric Light <>>> eric(a)ericlight.com>>> > wrote: YES I FIND THIS MUCH LESS ANNOYING, THANKS WILLIAM ��

Battiness aside, I suspect the answer to Michelle's problem isn't Whonix on Qubes on an old laptop. It sounds like excessive engineering for no good reason. Did anyone else have similar thoughts?

If I were going full-on paranoia mode, I'd be running TAILS, probably with a grsecurity-patched kernel, and probably through an offshore VPN. What do you guys think?

E

-- Securely sent with Tutanota. It's good, you should try it: https://tutanota.com>>> [1] [2]

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