CHROMEBOOKS - Are they any good?

bigfreddiel

Thinking of buying a Chromebook.

So what is your experience?

I only need it for email, web browsing and some online stuff like banking, ebay and so on.

What I think a Chromebook offers is a virus free environment, quick and fast to boot because it doesn't contain any 'bloatware', and always up to date with software revisions.

And of course relatively cheap.

Cheers

fj

Jackieboy

I'm using a Toshiba Chromebook at the moment and have had a Samsung in the past. I used them for exactly what you need it for and I think they're brilliant - I'd never go back to a normal laptop. Only drawback is needing a Cloud printer if you need to print anything.

EssexExile

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5567133

bigfreddiel

Thanks everyone, what about the security aspect, viruses and hacking?

austonic

bigfreddiel wrote: »

Thanks everyone, what about the security aspect, viruses and hacking?

They are as secure as your Google account, so providing you use two factor authentication and a decent password (not a real word or name used in any language in the world, with or without character substitutions such as 1 for i, or the addition of dates etc, and of around 12 or more characters) and do not disable device security that would allow a bad actor to simply grab it, open it and start using your computer for bad reasons (and even then using settings which stops them making account changes without going through additional security checks) the answer is very good.

There are no known viruses for Chromebooks out in the wild, just in labs.

There are a few malware threats, but these are mostly related to using scripts in documents and safe computing practices are going to keep you pretty safe. Much less likely to have problems than you might on a Windows system.

Hacking ... well, see above comments about passwords and device security.

Do not do anything silly such as use free wifi in a coffee shop. You will be at very low risk.

agrinnall

EssexExile wrote: »

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5567133

I'd go straight to this thread (linked to in the above) as it goes into quite a lot of detail.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5566493

austonic

A little extra info (a bit old, but still helpful),

http://uk.pcmag.com/laptops/34975/feature/tips-for-keeping-your-chromebook-safe-online

Don't forget the latest version of this Linux system can also run Android apps, but only source them from credible sources.

bigfreddiel

Thanks everyone, links to other threads was very useful, and other than any answer to the sucurity aspect it's all good. BTW, I'm a Linux user, for about ten years now, windows I use at work, and what a pain it is.

Cheers fj

austonic

bigfreddiel wrote: »

Thanks everyone, links to other threads was very useful, and other than any answer to the sucurity aspect it's all good. BTW, I'm a Linux user, for about ten years now, windows I use at work, and what a pain it is.

Cheers fj

I thought I'd covered the security aspects in my two comments. What still concerns you?

You do realise ChomeOS, the operating system for Chomebooks, is Linux?

macman

If you've got a compatible old laptop or netbook, why not install the open-market version (Cloudready) on it and try it out first-it's almost identical. Download and instructions available on this link.
https://www.neverware.com/#introtext-3

bigfreddiel

macman wrote: »

If you've got a compatible old laptop or netbook, why not install the open-market version (Cloudready) on it and try it out first-it's almost identical. Download and instructions available on this link.
https://www.neverware.com/#introtext-3

Here's I'll give that a go. fj