Run Linux in a virtual machine

THERE ARE PLENTY of reasons you should want to try out Linux, but in keeping with our first tutorial this month, one of them is to make it harder for your activity to be tracked online.

- NIK RAWLINSON

YOU'LL NEED THIS

VIRTUALBOX AND UBUNTU

Time required: Two hours.

If you want to make sure you can't be tracked, our best advice would be to use a different PC. You can do this even if you don't have a second computer by setting up a virtual machine on your computer, which behaves as though it's an entirely separate device. If set up properly, nothing that happens on your virtual machine will impact your main Windows installation, meaning that any websites you visit won't be able to identify you.

Here, we're going to set up a virtual machine running Ubuntu, which is the version of Linux that Windows users will find most familiar. You can also do this with Windows, but that would require you to pay for a second license for the operating system.

The advantage of using Linux is that you can install it for free and, if you want to boost your security further, you can delete the virtual machine every few months and set up a new one at no cost. You don't need to use your Linux virtual machine every day-just start it up when you want to browse a site you're not so sure about, and shut it down again when you've finished. If you enjoy using Linux, you could even install it on an older PC-running Windows 7, say-to extend its working life. 

1 SET UP VIRTUALBOX

Visit VirtualBox (www.virtualbox.org) and click Downloads followed by 'Windows hosts' to download the most recent version of VirtualBox. Once done, navigate to your Downloads folder in File Explorer and double-click the executable file.

>> A Windows User Account Control window will pop up asking if you're happy to run the software-click Yes, then click through the installation instructions, leaving all the options in their default states. When you reach the final screen, the option to start VirtualBox will be ticked. Leave it ticked and click Finish.