>if you go pick out a machine from a store and take it home immediately then the chances of it having something preinstalled specifically to target you is nil

>if you go pick out a machine from a store and take it home immediately then the chances of it having something preinstalled specifically to target you is nil Well, the chances of having government installed malware is nil ;) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfish#Lenovo_security_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfish#Lenovo_security_inci... (Kidding aside, purchasing a laptop at a store then wiping it is probably reasonably secure for even more paranoid users)