Google Chrome: Best security tips for safer browsing

There's a lot to like about Google Chrome's built-in security features. The browser offers unique sandboxing functions and privilege restrictions, and even updates itself in the background to help better protect you from hackers and malware. But like all browsers, Chrome is imperfect, and there are steps you can take to protect it from attack. Here's how to get the most from Chrome's built-in security features, and work around its security shortcomings.

Privacy features

Chrome offers several privacy features that help protect you while you browse. The most notable are its phishing- and malware-protection schemes, and a tool that can auto-correct misspelled Web addresses.

Chrome's phishing and malware protection put up a warning screen whenever you visit a website that Google has identified as potentially malicious, whether it spreads malware or tries to steal your personal information. Meanwhile, Chrome's URL autocorrect feature usees a Google-provided online service to fix misspelled URLS to help you avoid visiting the wrong site—and perhaps a nefarious site—by accident. Indeed, "typosquatting" is still a threat.

Chrome has several useful features that can help you avoid dangerous sites.

To use these features, open the browser's Settings panel and scroll down to the Privacy section (you may need to click Show advanced settings to get there), and check the boxes labeled Use a web service to help resolve navigation errors and Use a web service to help resolve spelling errors. Also, be sure to check the Enable phishing and malware protectionbox.

Additionally, click the Content settings tab and consider restricting some content. You can, for example, disable JavaScript (which is often exploited by malware) and plug-ins. When you do so, Chrome will notify you when a site is using them so that you can voluntarily opt in for legitimate sites.

Restricting and limiting Web content can help block some types of malware attacks.

Protect your saved passwords and credit card details

If you let Chrome save your website passwords, anyone who uses your PC can easily access them with a little poking around in the Settings panel. But unlike Firefox and its Master password feature, Chrome—and by extension, third-party add-ons—won't let you encrypt your passwords or saved credit card information.

Luckily, there are a few things you can do to help protect your privacy. First, don't allow people you don’t trust to use your Windows user account. Instead, either create a new Standard (non-administrative) account for others to use or turn on the Guest account.

It's ridiculously easy for someone to get at your saved passwords in Chrome.

If creating another Windows account is too inconvenient, consider using a Chrome extension like ChromePW, Browser Lock, or Secure Profile to password-protect Chrome. This effectively forces others to use another browser on your system like Internet Explorer (which doesn’t let others easily view your saved passwords) or Firefox (which lets you encrypt and password-protect your saved passwords).

Another option is to securely store your sensitive data using a third-party password manager. Some third-party password tools let you sync your passwords across other browsers, which might be helpful if you go from one computer to another. KeePass andXmarks are two popular password managers worth trying.

Secure your synced data

Chrome can sync most of your settings and saved data (including passwords, but not credit card details) across multiple computers and devices that have Chrome installed, but this creates a security vulnerability. By default, Chrome requires you to enter only your Google account password to set up a new computer or device to sync your browsing data. So if your Google account password were hacked, an intruder could potentially access a list of all your passwords.

Adjusting your sync settings can better protect the data that Chrome saves.

That is, unless you set a custom encryption syncing passphrase.

Once you set a syncing passphrase, you have to first sign in with your Google account password and then enter the passphrase to set up new synced devices. This adds an important extra layer of security. To set this up, open Settings, click Advanced sync settings, and selectChoose my own passphrase.

While you’re there, also consider turning on encryption for all synced data instead of just passwords.

Secure your Google account

Google offers several security features to help you better control and protect your account, and you should definitely consider using them if you use Chrome's sync feature. They help secure your entire Google account, so you should also consider using these security features if you tap into multiple Google services.

On the Google Account Security page, consider enabling Google's 2-step Verification. Once you've done that, you’ll have to enter a special code—which you'll receive via text, voice call, or the Google app—whenever you attempt to sign in to Google from a new PC or mobile device. This scheme ensures that anyone without direct, hands-on access to your mobile hardware will be denied entry into your Google data. When signing in to applications or features that don’t support the verification codes (like Chrome's sync feature), you’ll have to sign in to your Google account, access the 2-step Verification settings, and generate an application-specific password.

Google offers many security features and functions so you can better protect your account.

While on the Google Account Security page, you might also want to turn on email and/or phone notifications for password changes and suspicious log-in attempts. This way, you'll know right away if someone tries to change your password or attempts to log in to your account without your knowledge.

Additionally, review your recovery options in case you forget your password in the future. Last, review your authorized apps and sites and remove those you don’t use anymore.

Install extensions for additional protection

We reviewed many of the security features offered by Google and Chrome, but various extensions allow you to add even more security functions. For example, Web of Trust (WOT) can warn you of dangerous sites, and ADBlock can remove annoying or malicious advertisements that can lead to malware or phishing sites. View Thru lets you see the destination of shortened URLs, and KB SSL Enforcer can help you take advantage of HTTPS/SSL encryption on sites that support it. 

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Use Twitter to get real-time customer service updates and info

Yesterday, digital-comic-book reseller Comixology held a promotion offering a whopping 700 free comics—first issues of old and new series ranging from The Avengers to The Fantastic Four to Spider-Man.

For a total cost of $0, you could read these gems on the Web or your PC, tablet, or smartphone.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the giveaway was so popular, it turned into Kryptonite for Comixology's servers. I tried all day to create an account and grab some free comics, but simply couldn't connect.

Twitter to the rescue! Well, sort of. Seeking information about the situation, and hoping to find out when it might get resolved, I headed to Twitter and searched for Comixology. Two results: one feed for the company itself (@comixology) and another for support (@cmxsupport)! And, sure enough, the latter had all kinds of info and updates regarding the outage.

Unfortunately, the company ended up suspending the promotion until further notice. But the takeaway here is that when you're looking for real-time information about a company or service, look to Twitter.

For example, companies ranging from Comcast to HP to Verizon have Twitter feeds that blast out regular updates, very often with information about service issues. (Comcast, for example, offers news and troubleshooting help via @comcastcares.)

Likewise, if you're dealing with a technical issue and can't get help through the usual channels, you might have luck using Twitter for tech support.

You might think that checking a company's blog is the best way to get current information, but these days, you'll probably have better luck checking Twitter. It's a fast and effective way for companies to communicate with customers, so take advantage of it when you can.

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How to add Windows 8's best desktop features to Windows 7

"Windows 8 on a desktop." The very phrase makes some people recoil and instinctively mouse over their Start buttons.

It's too bad that the modern UI has proven so contentious, because aside from the eye candy—or eye cancer, depending on your perspective—an abundance of welcome nuts-and-bolts changes makes Windows 8 the hands-down best version of Windows that Microsoft has ever released.

But don't despair. Although you can tweak and tuck a few things to almost completely banish the interface formerly known as Metro from your Windows 8 life, you can also try another tactic: not upgrading at all. Many of Windows 8's best under-the-hood improvements can be yours in Windows 7 with the help of a few handy-dandy applications.

Having your cake and eating it too has never tasted so sweet.

Improved file copying and moving

TeraCopy: Unassuming, yet oh-so-awesome.

Not to brand myself as a geek, but Windows 8’s file-copy dialog box may be its biggest desktop improvement. It brings all copying and moving processes into a single window, tosses in a pause button, deals with file conflicts more intelligently, and is just plain faster than before.

The file copier built into Windows 7 isn’t very good by comparison. In fact, while introducing Windows 8's file-copying tweaks, former Windows president Steven Sinofsky wrote that "most people do not have a great tool for high-volume copy jobs,” as so few users have a third-party file-copying tool installed on their Windows 7 systems. Yes, the Windows 7 file copier is just that meh.

You can improve file copying and moving without upgrading to Windows 8 by installing the utterly superb TeraCopy. This utility not only speeds up some file transfers, but it also allows you to pause transfers, a tremendously convenient improvement over Windows' default functionality.

That's not the only useful trick up TeraCopy's sleeve, though. Rather than halting transfers completely when an error occurs (as Windows 7 so frustratingly does), the program skips over problematic data and instead displays troubled files for your perusal at the end of a mass data migration. Even better, TeraCopy sports Windows shell integration, allowing you to completely replace Windows Explorer’s normal copy, paste, and move functions with TeraCopy's excellent alternatives.

A better Windows Explorer

I get it—five years after its debut in Office 2007, the Ribbon interface is still polarizing. But there’s a lot to like about File Explorer, as the Ribbon-ized version of the traditional Windows Explorer interface has been dubbed in Windows 8.

For one thing, the Ribbon provides easier access to less-used functions, such as toggling the display of hidden files. Windows 8's File Explorer also restores the much-loved Up button that Windows Vista and Windows 7 both lack, giving you an easy, one-click way to go up a directory.

The new File Explorer even allows you to mount ISO disc-image files by double-clicking them, an awesome feature that eliminates the need for third-party ISO-mounting software.

Better Explorer and WinCDEmu: Two great tastes that taste great together.

If you want to spiff up Windows 7's Windows Explorer with a Ribbon and an Up button, your best option is Better Explorer. This utility actually packs in more functionality than Windows 8's File Explorer does, thanks to its ability to display multiple open folders in tabs at the top of the window. This makes wrangling files a breeze compared to Windows' usual multiwindow madness.

Interested? Just pin Better Explorer to your taskbar, and then forget that Windows 7's default Windows Explorer even exists. To use TeraCopy with Better Explorer, you’ll need to go into Better Explorer’s options and enable the Allow third-party file operation replacements checkbox on the Shell screen.

Install WinCDEmu if you want to mimic Windows 8's ISO-mounting ways. It’s a dead-simple program that allows you to mount ISO files and other types of disc images easily just by double-clicking them. You'll find no faster, easier way to access digital copies of physical discs.

A more powerful task manager

Process Explorer ain't pretty, but it's a power user's dream tool.

No two ways about it: Windows 8’s task manager is awesome. It’s the most powerful task manager ever included with Windows, and it comes stuffed with stellar features and enhancements, such as the ability to restart explorer.exe with a single click, a vastly improved performance-monitoring tab, and a tool to manage your startup programs. (Microsoft should have added that last feature to Windows a decade ago.)

You won't find a program that exactly mirrors Windows 8's myriad task manager tweaks. But if you want an advanced task manager packed with powerful features, try Microsoft’s own Process Explorer. It’s a bit more complicated than Windows 7’s task manager, although it’s also easier to use in many ways. For example, Process Explorer shows your processes in a tree view so that you can see how they’re related to each other. This view comes in handy if you’re trying to determine which Google Chrome process launched the 50 other Chrome processes running on your system.

If you prefer Process Explorer after giving it a whirl, you can make it your default task manager by opening its Options menu and selecting Replace Task Manager. Easy!

CCleaner's Startup tab.

To manage startup programs, you can turn to the ever-useful CCleaner application—if you read PCWorld how-to articles regularly, you probably already have it installed. You’ll find CCleaner's startup manager under Tools > Startup.

If CCleaner isn’t enough for you, tryMicrosoft’s own Autoruns tool. It’s the most comprehensive way to view and manage programs that automatically start at boot-up. Autoruns is definitely more complicated to use than the default tool built into Windows 8's task manager, but it also shows many more granular entries that CCleaner and Windows 8’s task manager don’t.

Integrated antivirus protection

Microsoft finally took some responsibility for security in Windows 8 and bundled an antivirus program dubbed Windows Defender with the operating system. Despite the different name, however, Windows Defender is basically the default Windows Firewall paired with Microsoft Security Essentials, which is freely available as a Windows 7 download.

MSE sports the same interface as Windows Defender, but it also delivers the same solid yet unspectacular virus protection. Why not check out the antivirus field and explore your options if you have to download a program anyway?

What about the performance improvements?

Windows 8 boots much, much faster than Windows 7 does. Seriously. It's like greased lightning. Microsoft achieved this by putting Windows 8 in a sort of hybrid state where the base kernel session is actually hibernating, as opposed to undergoing a full shutdown.

So, if you want Windows 7 to boot up faster, just use your computer’s hibernation option rather than turning it off all the way. Better yet, leave it in sleep mode when you’re not using it—sleep mode uses only a small amount of power, and your computer will resume in a second or two when you're ready to use it.

What, that's still not fast enough for you? Buy a solid-state drive. Since upgrade copies of Windows 8 cost $120 for the base version all the way up to $200 for Windows 8 Pro, it's possible to upgrade your computer to a blazing-fast SSD for less than you'd pay for a copy of Windows 8. SSDs offer tremendous performance improvements over platters of spinning rust (aka mechanical hard drives) in transfer times, access times, and operating system startup times alike.

It’s not as if Windows 8 is much faster in real-world use, anyway. You may see some battery-life improvements, and the desktop may feel a tad snappier—when the Start screen isn’t swallowing it whole and getting in the way, that is—but benchmarks have shown thatPC games play at about the same speed on Windows 7 and Windows 8 .

Windows 8 may be a bit less RAM-dependent than Windows 7, but if you run into RAM problems, you should just buy some more RAM. Memory is dirt cheap these days, and a heck of a lot cheaper than Windows 8. You can get 8GB of RAM, which is more than enough for the average PC user, for less than $50 online. A standard 4GB kit costs right around $30.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Yes, you can have it all.

And with that, your Windows 7 PC now has many of the vaunted nuts-and-bolts improvements introduced in Windows 8, only without all the glittering live tiles. If you're in the mood for continued tinkering, check out PCWorld's How to Get Windows 8 Features Now, which details programs that can mirror some of Windows 8's aesthetic changes, such as improved multimonitor support and the aforementioned live tiles.

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How (and why) to set up a VPN today

Marissa Mayer made Yahoo's VPN famous by using it to check on the work habits of her employees. Lost amid today's VPN conversation, however, is the fact that virtual private networks are much more than just pipelines for connecting remote employees to central work servers.

And that's a damn shame, because VPNs can be helpful tools for protecting online privacy, and you need not be an office drone to enjoy their benefits.

A VPN, as its name suggests, is just a virtual version of a secure, physical network—a web of computers linked together to share files and other resources. But VPNs connect to the outside world over the Internet, and they can serve to secure general Internet traffic in addition to corporate assets. In fact, the lion's share of modern VPNs are encrypted, so computers, devices, and other networks that connect to them do so via encrypted tunnels.

Why you want a VPN

You have at least four great reasons to start using a VPN. First, you can use it to connect securely to a remote network via the Internet. Most companies maintain VPNs so that employees can access files, applications, printers, and other resources on the office network without compromising security, but you can also set up your own VPN to safely access your secure home network while you're on the road.

Second, VPNs are particularly useful for connecting multiple networks together securely. For this reason, most businesses big and small rely on a VPN to share servers and other networked resources among multiple offices or stores across the globe. Even if you don't have a chain of offices to worry about, you can use the same trick to connect multiple home networks or other networks for personal use.

This diagram illustrates the difference between using an unencrypted connection and using a VPN-secured Internet connection at your average coffee shop.

Third, if you're concerned about your online privacy, connecting to an encrypted VPN while you're on a public or untrusted network—such as a Wi-Fi hotspot in a hotel or coffee shop—is a smart, simple security practice. Because the VPN encrypts your Internet traffic, it helps to stymie other people who may be trying to snoop on your browsing via Wi-Fi to capture your passwords.

Fourth and finally, one of the best reasons to use a VPN is to circumvent regional restrictions—known as geoblocking—on certain websites. Journalists and political dissidents use VPNs to get around state-sponsored censorship all the time, but you can also use a VPN for recreational purposes, such as connecting to a British VPN to watch theBBC iPlayer outside the UK. Because your Internet traffic routes through the VPN, it looks as if you're just another British visitor.

Pick your protocol

When choosing a networking protocol for your VPN, you need worry only about the four most popular ones. Here's a quick rundown, including the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is the least secure VPN method, but it’s a great starting point for your first VPN because almost every operating system supports it, including Windows, Mac OS, and even mobile OSs.

Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) and Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) are more secure than PPTP and are almost as widely supported, but they are also more complicated to set up and are susceptible to the same connection issues as PPTP is.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN systems provide the same level of security that you trust when you log on to banking sites and other sensitive domains. Most SSL VPNs are referred to as "clientless," since you don't need to be running a dedicated VPN client to connect to one of them. They're my favorite kind of VPN because the connection happens via a Web browser and thus is easier and more reliable to use than PPTP, L2TP, or IPsec.

An SSL VPN server is designed to be accessed via Web browser and creates encrypted channels so that you can safely access the server from anywhere.

OpenVPN is exactly what it sounds like: an open-source VPN system that's based on SSL code. It's free and secure, and it doesn't suffer from connection issues, but using OpenVPN does require you to install a client since Windows, Mac OS X, and mobile devices don't natively support it.

In short: When in doubt, try to use SSL or OpenVPN. Keep in mind that some of the services highlighted in the next section don’t use these protocols. Instead, they use their own proprietary VPN technology.

Now, let's talk about how to create and connect to your own VPN. If you want simple remote access to a single computer, consider using the VPN software built into Windows. If you’d like to network multiple computers together quickly through a VPN, consider installing stand-alone VPN server software.

If you need a more reliable and robust arrangement (one that also supports site-to-site connections), consider using a dedicated VPN router. And if you just want to use a VPN to secure your Internet traffic while you're on public Wi-Fi hotspots and other untrusted networks—or to access regionally restricted sites—consider subscribing to a third-party hosted VPN provider.

Set up a simple VPN with Windows

Windows comes loaded with a VPN client that supports the PPTP and L2TP/IPsec protocols. The setup process is simple: If you're using Windows 8, just bring up the Search charm, type VPN, and then launch the VPN wizard by clicking Set up a virtual private network (VPN) connection.

You can use this client to connect securely to other Windows computers or to other VPN servers that support the PPTP and L2TP/IPsec protocols—you just need to provide the IP address or domain name of the VPN server to which you want to connect. If you're connecting to a corporate or commercial VPN, you can contact the administrator to learn the proper IP address. If you're running your own VPN server via Windows, you can figure out the server's IP address by typing CMD in the Search charm, launching the Command Prompt, and typing ipconfig. This simple trick comes in handy when you're setting up your Windows PC as a VPN server, and then connecting to it so that you can securely, remotely access your files from anywhere.

Windows has a built-in VPN client, but you'll need to provide the connection information (namely, the IP address) for the VPN server you want to use.

Quick note: When setting up incoming PPTP VPN connections in Windows, youmust configure your network router to forward VPN traffic to the Windows computer you want to access remotely. You can do this by logging in to the router’s control panel—consult the manufacturer's instructions on how to do this—and configuring the port-forwarding or virtual-server settings to forward port 1723 to the IP address of the computer you wish to access. In addition, PPTP or VPN pass-through options need to be enabled in the firewall settings, but usually they're switched on by default.

Use third-party software to create a VPN server

If you’d like to create a VPN between multiple computers to share files and network resources without having to configure your router or to dedicate a PC to act as the VPN server, consider using third-party VPN software. Comodo Unite, Gbridge, and TeamViewerare all decent, reliable, and (most important) free.

LogMeIn Hamachi is a simple, elegant, and secure VPN client that's free for up to five users.

You can also use LogMeIn Hamachi for free with five or fewer users, but it's good enough that if you have more than five PCs you want to link up securely—say, as part of your small-but-growing business—you should consider paying for the full service.

Go whole hog with your own VPN router

If you want to get your hands dirty while providing robust remote access to an entire network, or if you wish to create site-to-site connections, try setting up a router on your network with a VPN server and client. If you’re working on a budget, the cheapest way to set up your own dedicated VPN router is to upload aftermarket firmware that enables VPN functionality, such as DD-WRT or Tomato, to an inexpensive consumer-level router.

The ZyXel USG20W VPN router is a smart investment if you want to set up your own dedicated VPN at home or in the office.

You can also purchase a specially designed router (commonly called a VPN router) with a VPN server built in, such as the ZyXel ZyWall 802.11n Wireless Internet Security Gigabit Firewall (USG20W), Cisco Wireless Network Security Firewall Router (RV220W), orNetgear ProSecure UTM Firewall with Wireless N (UTM9S).

When you're choosing a VPN router and third-party router firmware, make sure they support the VPN networking protocol you need for your devices. In addition, check the VPN router to verify how many simultaneous VPN users it supports.

Let a third-party VPN provider worry about it

If you merely want VPN access to cloak your Internet traffic while you're using public Wi-Fi or another untrusted network, or to access regionally restricted sites, the simplest solution is to use a hosted VPN provider. Hotspot Shield is my favorite, as it offers both free and paid VPN services for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. HotSpotVPN, StrongVPN, andWiTopia are other paid services we’ve reviewed in the past.

EFF

The Onion Router is an excellent, free utility that anonymizes your Internet activity through a series of servers scattered around the world.

If you want to keep your browsing activity anonymous but can't spare the cash for a paid VPN, check out the Onion Router, a network of servers that can anonymize your Internet traffic for free. Visit the TOR website and download the latest browser bundle, and then start browsing with the TOR extensions enabled. The software will encrypt your connection to the TOR server before routing your Internet traffic through a randomized series of servers across the globe, slowing your browsing speed but cloaking your online activity from prying eyes.

No matter how you choose to go about it, start using a VPN today. It takes a bit of work up front, but spending the time to get on a VPN is one of the smartest, simplest steps you can take toward making your online activities more secure.

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Backing up your entire drive: Cloning vs. imaging

Both cloning and imaging create an exact record of your drive or partition. I'm not just talking about the files, but the master boot record, allocation table, and everything else needed to boot and run your operating system.

This isn't necessary for protecting your data--a simple file backup will handle that job just fine. But should your hard drive crash or Windows become hopelessly corrupt, a clone or image backup can quickly get you back to work.

When you clone a drive, you copy everything on it onto another drive, so that the two are effectively identical. Normally, you would clone to an internal drive made external via a SATA/USB adapter or enclosure.

But imaging a drive is more like creating a great big .zip file (without the .zip extension). Image backup software copies everything on the drive into a single, compressed, but still very large file. You would probably save the image onto an external hard drive.

So what are the advantages of each?

Should your primary hard drive crash, a clone will get you up and running quickly. All you have to do is swap the drives.

On the other hand, if your drive crashes and you've backed it up to an image, you'd have to buy and install a new internal hard drive, boot from your backup program's emergency boot disc, and restore the drive's contents from the backup.

So why image? An image backup provides greater versatility when backing up. You can save several images onto one sufficiently large external hard drive, making it easier and more economical to save multiple versions of the same disk or back up multiple computers.

You can find several programs that can do these chores, including the backup tools in Windows 7 and 8. But I recommend Macrium Reflect Free, which is free for personal use. It's easy to use, can clone and image, and in my experience, is extremely reliable.

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Video: How to secure your home Wi-Fi network

Is your Wi-Fi network at home secure? There’s a good reason it should be.

Unsecure networks allow neighbors or anyone within range to use your Internet connection. That will slow it down, make you more vulnerable to hacking or, even worse, have your connection used for illegal activity.

In this IDG News Tech Tip video, we’ll go beyond simply setting a password, and talk about three security options available in most modern base stations—WEP, WPA and WPA2. We’ll also show you how to find out which one of those you’re using as well as how to stop your base station from broadcasting its SSID—the name you see when you scan for a WiFi network.
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The Ubuntu guide for displaced Windows users

With Windows 8 pushing a “touch-first” desktop interface—Microsoft’s words, not ours—and with Valve’s Steam on Linux beginning to bring much-needed games and popular attention to the oft-overlooked operating system, there’s never been a better time to take Linux out for a test drive.

Dipping your toes into the penguin-filled waters of the most popular open-source ecosystem is easy, and you don't have to commit to switching outright to Linux. You can install it alongside your current Windows system, or even try it without installing anything at all.

Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distribution for desktop and laptop Linux users, so we’ll focus on Ubuntu throughout this guide. For the most part, Ubuntu just plain works. It sports a subtle interface that stays out of your way. It enjoys strong support from software developers (including Valve, since Steam on Linux only officially supports Ubuntu). And you can find tons of information online if you run into problems.

Installing Ubuntu

To get an idea of how Ubuntu works and what it looks like on your PC without committing to anything you might later regret, you'll need to create your own Ubuntu boot device.

First, get an Ubuntu disc image from the Ubuntu website. After downloading the ISO file, right-click it, and you can then burn it to a writable CD or DVD. If you’d rather put Ubuntu on a USB drive, first take a moment to look over our guide to this procedure. If you run into any trouble creating a Ubuntu USB boot drive, consult the Ubuntu website for troubleshooting tips.

From the first boot, Ubuntu tries to be helpful and user-friendly.

After creating your Ubuntu disc or USB drive, insert it in your PC and restart the system. It should automatically boot into the live Ubuntu environment. At this point, you can play around with Ubuntu without installing anything on your computer—though it will run slower—or you can move on to installing it. If you install Ubuntu alongside Windows, you’ll see a boot menu that asks you to choose your operating system whenever you boot your computer.

For an easier way to install Ubuntu, use Wubi, the officially supported Windows Ubuntu Installer. Wubi lets you install Ubuntu from within Windows, just as you would any other program.

Wubi makes it easy to install Ubuntu on top of Windows.

You’ll be able to boot into Ubuntu when you start your computer. But because its files are stored on the Windows file system instead of on its own dedicated Linux partitions, Ubuntu won’t run as quickly as in this setup as it would by itself. That's something to keep in mind if you plan to play demanding games or use Ubuntu all the time. On the other hand, Wubi enables you to uninstall Ubuntu very easily—directly from the Windows Add/Remove Programs control panel.

Forget about digging around for drivers

If your hardware is properly supported (as most contemporary PC hardware is), Ubuntu should work fine out of the box. Everything necessary for using it is included in the base operating system. You don’t have to hunt down driver installation packages on your computer manufacturer's website, as you do with Windows.

The only exception involves advanced video drivers. If you have an Nvidia or ATI card, Ubuntu may prompt you to install your manufacturer’s proprietary graphics drivers for maximum 3D graphics performance. Even then, you can complete the process in a few clicks after Ubuntu alerts you.

Loading up on software

Ubuntu comes with quite a bit of preinstalled software, including such notable applications as the Firefox browser and the LibreOffice office suite. For additional items, you'll have to delve into the Linux software repository.

Installing applications on Linux doesn't involve visiting Google, searching for an application while dodging malware, and downloading the installer from a third-party website. Instead, Linux maintains software repositories, which are similar to app stores (although Linux had them many years earlier.)

The Ubuntu Software Center hosts a multitude of apps, most of them free.

To install software on Ubuntu, open the Ubuntu Software Center—the shopping-bag-like icon on the dock at the left side of your screen—and run a search for the type of software you want to install. The Ubuntu Software Center is full of free, open-source applications compiled for Ubuntu, as well as some commercial applications available for a small fee. The Ubuntu Software Center acts as a user-friendly front end to Ubuntu’s software management tools, which you can also access from other applications or with terminal commands.

A few applications that you might want to use—such as Google Chrome and Steam—aren’t in the Ubuntu Software Center.  You can pick these up from their associated websites (Google’s Chrome website or Valve’s Steam website), downloading them as .deb files. Double-click a .deb file and Ubuntu will prompt you to install it.

The lion's share of Linux applications tie into the Ubuntu Software Updater, so you can manage all your updates with a single program.

Unlike with Windows, where every application must include its own updater, standard software management tools handle all updates on an Ubuntu system. When updates are available in Ubuntu’s repositories, the Software Updater will appear. When you install third-party software like Google Chrome or Steam, the source of the application adds its own software repository, and updates will appear in the Software Updater.

Using Ubuntu’s Unity Desktop

Ubuntu’s default desktop environment, named Unity, is one of many possible desktops you can use. Linux lets you experiment with different options until you find the one that's right for you. Here are the main Unity features you should know about.

The dock: Unity should feel very familiar to users of Windows 7. Its a Windows 7-style taskbar (known as the dock) appears on the left side of the screen. Like the Windows taskbar, it shows both running and not-running application and has right-click jump lists (known as “quick lists”). Unlike the Windows taskbar, the dock’s location can’t be changed to another edge of the screen.

The dash: The dock doesn’t show all your installed applications. To open the dash so you can reach other applications, click the Ubuntu icon in the upper-left corner of your screen, or press the Windows key (known as the Super key in Linux). The dash allows you to search and browse your installed applications and files, among other things. Use the search feature to find an installed application, or click the Applications icon at the bottom of the dash to browse all of your installed applications.

Locking and unlocking app icons: When you open a new application, its icon will appear on the dash for as long as it’s running. You can right-click icons to lock them to and unlock them from the dock, just as you can pin and unpin them on the WIndows taskbar.

Application menus: Ubuntu uses a Mac-style universal menu bar by default. So if you’re using Firefox, you’ll find the File/Edit/View menus on the panel at the top of your screen, not in the Firefox window itself.

Your Home folder: Open Ubuntu’s file manager, and you’ll see your Home folder. This is where you store your personal files, just as you would on the C:\Users\Name folder in Windows. But unlike in Windows, your user account doesn’t have write access to areas in Ubuntu outside your home folder, so get used to storing your files here.

Workspaces: Linux has always offered excellent support for workspaces, also known as virtual desktops. A virtual desktop is essentially its own self-contained workspace with a different set of open windows. You can switch between workspaces with hotkeys by pressing Ctrl-Alt-arrow key.

The Workspace Switcher makes you more productive and your desktop more awesome.

The Workspace Switcher icon located near the bottom of the dock also allows you to view and manage your workspaces. You can move windows between workspaces in any of three ways: right-click their title bars and use the options in the context menu; drag and drop them in the workspace switcher; or press Ctrl-Alt-Shift-arrow key.

The HUD: The Ubuntu heads-up display provides an easy way to search and use an application’s menu items with just your keyboard. To activate it, press Alt and start typing a command that appears in a program’s menu. For example, if you want to activate the View > Show Hidden Files menu option in the file manager, you can press Alt, type Show Hidden, and press Enter to activate the menu option. You can also use this feature to search for and find menu options.

Indicator applets: Like system tray icons in Windows, indicator applets show your battery state, network connection, and sound settings. You’ll find them in the upper-right corner of your screen. In Ubuntu, as in Windows, applications that you install can add their own indicator applets. Use the options under the gear icon in the upper-right corner of your screen to shut down your computer or to access the System Settings window, which corresponds to the Windows Control Panel.

Desktop hotkeys: For more Unity keyboard shortcuts, press and hold the Super key (aka the Windows key), and a cheat sheet will appear.

Your journey continues

This introduction just scratches the surface of what you can do with Ubuntu. We haven’t discussed using the terminal (it’s an amazing power-user tool once you get used to it), and we haven't looked at any of the many other desktop environments you can try if you don’t like the way Unity works. Linux is so flexible that you can make Ubuntu look more like Windows 7 than Windows 8 can.

If you want to dig deeper and get your hands dirty in the terminal, or install an alternative desktop environment, you can—but you don’t have to. Ubuntu's flexibility is refreshing after extended exposure to Windows 8's one-size-fits-all approach to the desktop, which takes options away from desktop users in order to unify the Windows ecosystem and (ultimately) serve Microsoft’s bottom line. Linux takes the opposite approach, providing options and letting you make your own decisions.

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