Installation :: Looking At Installing Ubuntu In My Computer?

My only interest in Ubuntu is that I want a reliable trouble free as nearly as possible computer. I know absolutely nothing about the inner workings of one and have no interest in learning about them. I am a 77 year old retired seismologist on a fixed income so you can understand my reasons for want of a trouble free computer. The current system I have is a Dell Studio XPS with Windows 7 64bit. It is a little more then a year old and has had two crashes. The first ended with having to change the hard drive which Dell did with no charge to me. The second crash resulted in having to reinstall windows. I had the disk so that wasn't much of a problem, but without the disk I would have had a very expensive paper weight. My chief concern is about malware, spyware, viruses and what have you. I want something that not everyone is taking shots at. If I were to install Ubuntu I would want it to be able to do what I currently do and do it without fear of it crashing or having to update it every week or reinstall it every year. It would have to work with the printer and scanner that I had to buy because drivers weren't available for the older printer and scanner I have.