# Hello there new user with some quick questions



## BSDNewbie (Mar 11, 2010)

Hello to the Free BSD community ! 

I came here when a buddy of mine urged me to try Free BSD out, so before I bite the bullet and do an install I wanted to ask some questions real quick and here they are.

1. will a windows user (namely me) have a lot of trouble adjusting to this OS ?.

2. is there a NEO GEO emulator that works for Free BSD ?.

3. is it true that there are no Virus or Malware Problems for this OS ?.

4. what choices do I have for Media Players and is there gonna be codec hell for common formats like MP3, Mpeg, RM Ect.

Thanks in advance to any and all people that take the time to answer as my buddy just does not have the time to explain it all to me (he is not very patient person or a good teacher).

BSDNewbie


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## fronclynne (Mar 11, 2010)

Probably.  But I have quite a bit of trouble adjusting to the chicken-fried nuttiness of windows, YMMV.
emulators/xgngeo, for one
Not true at all, theoretically.  Practically speaking, most of the garbage is targetted at windows, so you're more or less flying under the radar, but ssh and mail server attacks are pretty common.  See: Securing FreeBSD
I tend to use multimedia/mplayer from the command line, but there's also multimedia/xmms, multimedia/bmpx, multimedia/audacious, in fact a whole raught: many many thousands of linux applications work very well on FreeBSD.

HTH


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## BSDNewbie (Mar 11, 2010)

Thanks for the answers, I am currently waiting for the .ISO to finish downloading I cannot wait to install it. 

So if I follow the tips in securing BSD I should not have any problems ?, if so that would be fantastic !. 

I had my debit card number stolen while paying some bills about 9 months ago UMB bank told me the site was secure and most likely my system had a key logger installed by some malware at some point they suggested I call geek sqaud to help fix my machine.

well enough rambling and once again thanks for the answers, I will probably have more questions later.

BSDNewbie


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## fronclynne (Mar 11, 2010)

*I know saying "holy pickle chickens" has kept me from killing again*



			
				BSDNewbie said:
			
		

> So if I follow the tips in securing BSD I should not have any problems ?, if so that would be fantastic !.
> 
> I had my debit card number stolen while paying some bills about 9 months ago UMB bank told me the site was secure and most likely my system had a key logger installed by some malware at some point they suggested I call geek sqaud to help fix my machine.



Security isn't magic.  You really have to watch out and always be learning, but locking down root and using good passwords is a start.

It may have been a keylogger, or UMB just might not be all that technically competent.  FreeBSD will not at all protect you from card fishing sites.

Make sure you read lots and lots of the Handbook, take your time, and remember that sometimes just shouting a bunch of curses can make you feel a lot better.


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## gilinko (Mar 11, 2010)

And I would say that if you have never used any form of non-Windows system, start with PCBSD instead and install it in a virtual machine like VirtualBox on your current system.


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## SirDice (Mar 11, 2010)

BSDNewbie said:
			
		

> 3. is it true that there are no Virus or Malware Problems for this OS ?.


I don't know of anything that's currently going around in the wild. This in and of itself doesn't mean a virus or other types of malware are impossible on FreeBSD. It is most certainly possible to create one.


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## DutchDaemon (Mar 11, 2010)

I second gilinko: if you think you will boot into a nice and shiny GUI: FreeBSD won't do that (ever). Either make time for installing the GUI yourself, or go with PC-BSD.


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## tangram (Mar 11, 2010)

BSDNewbie said:
			
		

> 1. will a windows user (namely me) have a lot of trouble adjusting to this OS ?.



Yep, massive troubles in fact. The *nix world is quite different from Microsoft's operating systems. 

But if you are committed to the learning process, point your browser to the FreeBSD Handbook, download and install VirtualBox, setup a FreeBSD (PC-BSD is probably better for you at this stage) virtual machine and get acquainted with the OS.


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## BSDNewbie (Mar 14, 2010)

Hello there I am back 

I just wanted to say Thank You to the following Folks here who have made my first experience a positive in the non-Windows world as well as the great info and advice.
so thank you : fronclynne gilinko  SirDice DutchDaemon tangram

I found some texts on the internet about installing FreeBsd using a virtual machine and got it installed (finally) it took me an hour or 6 but I have decided based on my experince (or lack of) during the install phase to go with an OS called Ubuntu. 

Now I am not saying that FreeBsd is bad, just I do not think I am good enough to use it yet maybe after a while of using Ubuntu I will have a better understanding of Unix like systems and will eventually be able to use FreeBsd in a proper way.

I really like Ubuntu a lot and am having a pretty easy time of using it and learning a lot about what makes it tick so to speak. But I am going to stop my rambling on and on about it.

BSDNewbie


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## graudeejs (Mar 14, 2010)

I don't think that using Ubuntu you will learn lot.
The whole point of Ubuntu is to use point and click and keep you as far away form console as possible.

Console is the tool that makes you learn unix


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## DutchDaemon (Mar 14, 2010)

Ubuntu won't make anyone more versed in Unix, probably even less. PC-BSD with some time spent on the console sounds like a much better option for that.


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## dsrd (Apr 2, 2010)

DutchDaemon said:
			
		

> Ubuntu won't make anyone more versed in Unix, probably even less. PC-BSD with some time spent on the console sounds like a much better option for that.


That sounds like a good idea. My brother is thinking about going with Ubuntu, though learning Unix isn't high on his list of priorities. I think he's just sick of Microsoft products.


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