The best OS for gaming.

I have been to "legit" sites where malware has attempted an install. While I can see the exploits for what they are casual users may not. For the silly occasional inconvenience of UAC I do not see disabling it. For the older programs that typically go against the UAC rules, as mentioned, there are ways around it.

So to the OP, and threads topic, having UAC should be a game stopper in deciding your best OS.. pun intended.

 

Hi

7 PRO

All the best

 

I agree to an extent. Security has been over emphasized and pushed on the general consumer, where in reality all that security isn't necessary. Someone would have to directly target you and take the time to navigate even a simple router setup, even then getting access to data would require a shared file repository for someone to access, and even if you had a basic password protection unless you're holding the secrets to some big confidential project or they can access tens of thousands of dollars, the risk is minimal. I think a basic anti-virus/anti-malware software is more than sufficient, and just password protect your router/wi-fi setup, even a simple password (other than password, lol).

Regarding Malware, however, I'm super cautious with my surfing too. I have a restricted number of websites I visit, only by habit mainly, and all are "legit". But I do a manual malware scan periodically and it still picks up some little malware things. I've known many people who say they never get malware, but a quick scan and they are shocked by the number of entries that show up after running Malwarebytes Anti-Malware software. You don't always know you have malware and in many cases they don't do much harm, at worse change your browser startup page or run some annoying app in the background that you really don't want/need.

UAC is annoying, but it's not horrible. It's not something that most users need to contend with a lot on a daily basis, only when installing or running an admin-privilege required app. I can't say it's caught much in the past, but on a few occasions I have had some installer try to install some other stuff and the UAC gave me that option to decline. Although I do wish some apps you could whitelist. Sure it opens a hole, but a malware would have to be named the same .exe that you whitelist and could possibly go so far as whitelisting filename and hash.

But I would say no protection is not a wise idea, it's akin to leaving your house unlocked and window shades open to expose your goodies. At least lock the doors and close your blinds when you're away.

 

I would vote Win 7 as well ...

You can expect Microsoft to begin "crippling" it soon though ... either through lack of support or future releases of Direct X that will not be compatible with Win 7 ...