content: I still struggle with installing Linux next to Windows 10 on a modern computer  Just as Microsoft wants it. What distribution or distribution(s) did you try?  That can make a load of difference.  A lot of the Linux install experience boils down to hardware compatibility.  I would suggest that you consider trying a LiveCD - most notably Knoppix.  There isn't much to lose, and even if you don't like it, you gain an emergency recovery tool in case your Windows install goes belly-up.  Or try it in VirtualBox.  Man, everything is gonna be less of a pain than installing and using fucking Linux.  Linux is not as bad as you make it out to be.  However, I'm also going to note that eventually Windows 7 and 8 are going to stop updating, and that will be the end of use for a lot of people.  Once that happens less and less software and hardware will work with it, so you'll have the delightful choice of jump off the Windows 10 cliff or go with Linux.  Swapping to a VPN, or using a pay mail provider, or anything else, is not going to solve this problem.  Spyware bundled with the OS is an extremely fundamental problem in an entirely different league than Google or Facebook or what-have-you, and not many people are acknowledging this.  You might want to keep this in mind.