The Lynux canonical has discontinued support for Flash, so videos in any distro can be less than optimal. So far I'm doing ok with Utube, but have had issues with other video platforms. Web pages should render properly. If you're adventurous you could also have a look see at Zorin..maybe it will run a tad smoother I don't know. Personally I'll take a few glitches here and there over all that distructoware and pushy commercialism anytime...
If you don't go to shady websites or click on every blind link sent you in email, your chances of getting anything are very slim. Even slimmer if you have proper protection running at all times and keep it updated. In 24 years I've had one incursion that wasn't caught, and it was pretty much my own fault. I knew right as it happened. I would suggest reading this article, creating a folder with all of the downloaded programs it links to, and a text file with the step by step instructions listed here. It's been updated over the years. This is how I cleaned my machine when I had a problem, and I've used it to fix other people's computers too. http://www.techspot.com/community/t...lware-removal-preliminary-instructions.58138/
You should probably cover your mouth when you cough near your computer and wear latex gloves as well.
I know how you feel. My new job has forced me to have a couple Windows computers around the house (for MS Office and some other Windows only software). I haven't had one in probably 6 or 7 years so going back from Linux has been an adjustment.
If you decide to stay with Windows 8, install MalwareBytes Pro. Best thing out for malware. have it on my machine and every customer of mines machine that I work on. Never let me down yet going on 3 years.
I've had Windows machines side by side with Linux since the days of Windows 95 - I can count on one hand how many viruses I've had on my personal computers. Occasionally they were obtained because of family clicking links like crazy or installing stuff without thinking but that's possible with anyone. My home computers for Windows use AVG For Free for antivirus and I keep malwarebytes on it for regular checks every month or so.
Right now I'd probably rather be using a Microsoft OS rather than an Apple one. Apples security program is pretty new and small compared to Microsoft's. With the continuing rise of malicious software attacking Apple's various OS I know which company I would put my faith in.
There are concerns with any OS. Many think that there are no viruses or malware for the Linux/Unix like systems, and that just isn't true. The difference is that there just aren't hundreds of thousands of criminals and idiots out there creating nasty Linux code and propagating it. Sadly, I think people are going to find that as the Apple becomes a bigger target, (more people using it) it will have more and more criminals attacking it too. What Shaverman says is correct. Keep your Windows machine updated and stay off the porn sites. If you have doubts about a site that you want to check out, you can check it's history. (search for smartscreen filter) Don't blindly open email attachments. Educate yourself. ( I like How-to-Geek) Don't fret. You will be ok. Oh, and if you are worried in particular about Java or JavaScript, uninstall/disable it. I don't have Java on the machine I'm using right now, and have never had it. I also have JavaScript blocked from running in my browser. (ie11) I use the internet like a reference library, meaning I go everywhere. (except to porn sites) I don't miss Java at all.
Not hundreds of thousands however there are quite a few dedicated groups. They don't care about the average desktop user though because they target servers utilized by large corporations which (80%+) use Linux. Their problems lie in the fact that even elevated accounts can't get the proper permissions to do what their code wants it to do, and *NO* Linux admin worth his own weight in empty bottle caps would be executing custom scripts on a server as root. (This would be why Windows and even Apple to a slight extent are targeted - the standard permissions of the Operating System are elevated more than an average user would know, ESPECIALLY Windows.
