Linux is not an OS, Ubuntu is an OS. Linux is the kernel. You feel that
Ubuntu is NOT safe, but that may be more your perception based on limited
experience rather than reality.

Much of Linux's safety is built in. The root system is isolated from data.
If you set it up with a separate home a partition then if the OS goes down
then you can re-install the OS without disrupting your data and settings.
You cannot do that in Windows. Re-installation is a piece of cake compared
to Windows. It takes a fraction of the time, you do not have to feed in
driver disks and re-install applications. If you save your package list to a
text file then you can even use that file to re-install all of your
applications. All you need to do is sit back and wait for it to finish.
Linux boxes can be left running 24/7 without ever re-booting for years.

I am not saying that Linux is easy. There is a learning curve. You need to
expect that. It is a different OS. Windows thinking can get you into trouble
and work against you. If you start from scratch then it is easier than
trying to unlearn what you already know.

I learned by hard knocks. I broke my system more times than I can count.
Sometimes I even did it intentionally. I never feared losing things because
I learned how to do it properly, by partitioning and backing up. Now, I
don't even bother backing up because I know the worst that can happen. My
computer is extreme. It has 17 partitions. I have at least eight OSes
installed at any given time. I am not holding this out as an example for
others to follow, but to show that given time and experience then you can
take things to extremes without losing data or settings. A simple dual boot
is nothing in comparison. I am no genius. I am patient and willing to learn
and on occasion mess things up.

Making a blanket statement that Linux is unsafe is blatantly untrue not only
for me, but for the majority of companies that use Linux everyday. It is the
backbone of the internet. Many of the largest companies that you depend on
use it. Even Microsoft uses LAMP. Dell recently stated that Linux is more
secure than Windows and suggested that users consider buying one of their
Linux products over Windows ones. Every year Ubuntu out of the box beats
both OS/X and Windows when hackers get together to look for exploits. You
don't find out about it because it is worth big money to find these holes
and the hackers are paid and sign non disclosure agreements. It takes place
in Vancouver each spring.

Linux seems unsafe for you because you have not learned how to take
advantage of it and what is familiar to you by past experience therefore,
even with all of its problems is "better". Windows is unsafe by any
standard. That is not opinion but established fact. Most of the botnets in
the world run on Windows machines. Most of the spam proliferates via
Windows. It isn't just as Microsoft would have you believe that Windows is
more popular. It is also most easy to exploit and they cannot patch it fast
enough to get ahead of the game.

As bad as Windows is, users are even worse. And the worst of users are the
average Windows user. They have developed bad habits that they often bring
to Linux when they finally decide to switch. They look for ways to
circumvent Linux practice that has evolved and made Linux more secure. I
don't want to seem like I am dumping on you. I have done my fair share of
dumb things in both Windows and Linux.

You need to give it some time and not expect perfection right away without
doing lots of work. Nothing works that way.