Bye, Windows

If you’re using a PC, it’s probably running Microsoft Windows. Microsoft has come under sustained criticism for not respecting their users’ privacy. Just to give one example, by default Windows records everything you type and sends this to Microsoft, and Windows carries on sending your data to Microsoft even when you tell it not to.

The most famous alternative to Windows is Apple’s Mac line of computers. However, just like Windows, it is a proprietary operating system where no one can truly tell what exactly it is doing.

Thankfully, there are privacy-conscious, easy-to-use, Linux-based operating systems which are free and can be installed on your existing PC. If you prefer a ready-to-use computer rather than installing an operating system yourself, head over to our hardware recommendations.

Because Linux is “only” a kernel, the piece of software which “speaks” to the hardware in a computer, it is in and of itself not a complete operating system yet. That’s why Linux comes in so called distributions which add the remaining components of a complete operating system to the kernel.

You can test most Linux distributions from a USB drive before installing it. If you can’t or don’t want to fully replace Windows, you can install the Linux distribution of your choice alongside Windows in a so called dual-boot setup (just be aware that this can be unstable thanks to the way Windows works).