[fwipsy]

I used to think so too, but when my extremely-non-techy mother's Chromebook died, she was able to switch from chrome OS to Ubuntu with minimal fuss. Chrome OS has some specific features, but if you just need a web browser Ubuntu works fine.

[sneak]

You say this only because she hasn’t been ransomwared yet, which is impossible on ChromeOS.

[array_key_first]

It's also very rare on Linux. On Linux, 99% of software comes from trusted repositories. The odds of randomware existing in the Ubuntu repos is low.

It's not the wild wild West like Windows. There are structural reasons why Linux desktops are less susceptible to malware, as well as the obvious marketshare issue.

[fwipsy]

It's also a non-issue if you use Ubuntu like chrome OS. She doesn't have any data stored locally.

More generally, this feels roughly equivalent to saying "it's better to live in a tent than a house, because a house will crush you when an earthquake happens."