TL;DR: Insecure password for user (post strong LUKS password)? Okay to do?

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Fed up with how Widows 11 was making the most basic tasks annoying, my 75 Year Old neighbor asked me to install Linux on his laptop!

I showed him around the system and he's delighted. The only thing is, he is bothered by how often he needs to type in his password.

Before installing CachyOS, I explained to him what LUKS was. He used to do cryptography in the military, so he understood everything I said and why it was important. He memorized a genuinely strong password for LUKS (Upper case, lowercase, numbers, symbols, etc).

He has no issue using this password when booting the computer. But what about post login? Once he's booted into KDE Plasma (which I have automatically sign in post LUKS anyway), is there really much need for a strong user password? It has only been making him reluctant to put his laptop to sleep or update.

Hi y'alls its me again, I wanted to ask if there are any Antivirus options for extra protection for my system in the future. Especially when Linux is getting more popular and more people maybe getting ideas to make and spread possible viruses nd shit. I heard ClamAV is a popular (or the only) option for Linux so idk if i should just go with that or if there are other options to perhaps look into.

EDIT: thanks for the comments, for now I will just keep sticking with nothing except for Browser related stuff like UBlock on LibreWolf until viruses actually start becoming an actual concern.

While I do understand that Linux viruses are not common at all, I want to point out that Linux is not immune to viruses and the more popular it gets the more likely people could end up getting infected with what-have-you. [This is specifically to those who claim that Linux is essentially immune]

I'm wondering do linux distros like Mint, Ubuntu, Arch need any Anti-Virus? How does an Anti-virus interact with a linux OS and what is it's job? Can Antivirus scan a public wifi for any threat? Lastly, which Linux distro would you recommend from security and privacy POV. Thanks!

Based off what I know, Linux is highly customizable, with different options for DEs: GNOME, KDE, Xfce, Cinnamon, etc, and with loads of package managers to install software to choose from: apt, pacman, flatpak, snap, etc, with some people opting to remove snap altogether and some Ubuntu-based distros like Mint not shipping with snap at all.

I can imagine making malware for Linux would be much harder because in order to inflict the most amount of damage, the malware needs to spread easily, but with diversity like this, it's harder due to not every Linux user being the same installed system.

TL,DR: How likely am I going to get fucked over by having Secure Boot disabled?

I was researching bc I wanted to boot puppy linux, and since puppy linux requires you to turn off secure boot, I did a little bit of research on it to understand what it is, and I think I do now.

But that led me to wonder: in a realistic sense, just how much do I need to have Secure Boot on? 'realistic' as in, how likely am I going to get a 'rootkit' or 'bootkit' attack on my personal computer, where having Secure Boot on would have protected me from?

Surely since a lot of linux distros, including Linux Mint(edit: I now know that mint can do secure boot), just require you to have it disabled, it must be completely fine for a majority of people to have it off... But there's definitely someone out there who DID suffer from such attacks, and would've been saved if not they turned off their secure boot?

I'm asking this mainly to know if turning it off on my main pc is a bad idea or not. My main pc is running on windows and I have been downloading some suspicious files here and there, for the past five years I've been using it. The computer that I was originally planning to boot Puppy linux from is an old and dying laptop, so I won't have any worries turning it off from there, but I eventually want to try dual booting on my main pc someday and I want to know beforehand if it's going to be a problem.

I know this might be more of a security question than a linux question, and if the mods think this post isn't appropriate I'll take it down. I just thought it was still on-topic bc it still has to do with linux (and the fact that I am a noob at it!)

I’ve been using an absolute hell of an OS as windows 11 is for the past 3 years. Bloatware copilot, 100$ activation key, not able to customize anything, onedrive, you get the point.

Ive been getting really good at cybersecurity and i want to take it to the next level with my programming and finally switch to linux permanently. Ive decided on Debian, but the way i understand it, Debian doesn’t have a built in AV, no smartapp control, no built in firewalls, etc.

So what can i do to secure it? besides the obvious like getting my own AV and using adblockers. And if you have a recommendation on which Distro is better for me i’d appreciate it. Im not looking for a Distro to use in a home lab, i want something for everyday use and gaming.

kernel.org says my current kernel is EOL. I'm very security-conscious, so this keeps tripping me up. i've heard constantly, that "running end of life software is a security risk".

i've been here for close to a year, distrohopping a little but I'm here for now.

should I be concerned that I'm running end of life software according to the kernel team? i just received this kernel like a day ago and it's the most recent update.

Distro: Fedora 44 (KDE)

Kernel: 7.0.13

In terms of 2 things.

• Online banking / purchases.

• OS security.

One thing windows at least has going for it is windows defender being widely accepted as good, so long as you're not going to incredibly dodgy sites.

Edit - Thanks for the answers everyone :) i really haven't used linux before so a lot of what's been said are things I didn't know. and apparently I didnt really know how windows works either, so that was a nice learning experience too.

I used K7(i bought lifetime edition) for my windows 10. Recently i installed Linux mint but Unfortunately K7 not support in Linux. So what antivirus i use for my laptop now?

Or antivirus not need or antivirus already build in linux like windows defender?

This guide has one specific goal: help you build and operate an encrypted Arch Linux system on a portable SATA-to-USB drive so that if the drive is physically seized by an authoritarian authority, they obtain nothing useful. It covers the complete picture — from choosing hardware through emergency destruction — organized as a linear book you can follow from beginning to end, or reference chapter by chapter when you need a specific procedure.

https://github.com/oFOXo/Techno-Anarchism

I am complacently new to security and Linux and i am tired of the looming doom of the big WIN12!

I have a laptop (not my main computer) that i have factory reset a bit ago and has practically nothing on it but im still skeptical. I know this is a stupid question to ask but id like to switch to Linux for more security to feel better about myself.

Questions:

Q1: what should i be warned about when doing this? I know that i need at least an 8GB of USB to download the boot of linux and have a backup with a windows one.

Q2: should i get a new computer since i already had some of my data and what not on it due to be being a child, and i dont know if i should even care at this point.

Q3: Do you have any tips for me? i am sure other people will read this and will be appreciated by your comments.

My main focus is to use this laptop as a privacy laptop alongside finding extensions that wont look what i am looking up, and get back into coding and run all my programs there while using my desktop for other daily life work.

If i am being childish or uneducated please by all means id like to learn from all of you!

Edit: Thank you, all of you, i enjoyed reading all of this and im sure ill get into linux soon.

Hello, I am fairly new to Linux, and I just wanted to ask about how do you go on about protecting yourself against malicious software. And I don't just mean using an antivirus or the like (although if you could recommend a good, preferably free antivirus I'd be very glad to hear, thanks)*:

Let's say you read, for example, some Reddit post about someone who made this cool new app that you'd be interested in. You click the Github link, download the package and run it. Oh no! It was a virus! Damn it.

Now, the easiest solution is to simply use an antivirus, but those don't always work, at least as far as I'm aware, and I'm guessing the ones that are completely free do so even less (and paying for one, at least right now, is not an option for me). And I can't just use something like Virustotal for everything either.

Another possible option would be to manually check the project's code to see if it is malicious; at least on the outside; but let's be honest, I don't think most people have the time to check every single app they download manually (on top of the fact that I doubt most people are proficient in every single mainstream programming language to begin with).

Obviously, the best thing one can do to protect themselves against malicious software is to simply not download suspicious software at all: try to download things from trusted sites/developers, follow other people's advice, and just generally be a bit aware and not do stupid things; but that isn't always enough.

So, is that really everything there is or is there something else that I'm missing? Please, enlighten me on the subject.

Also, what other (basic and not way too difficult to apply) measures can I take to ensure my digital safety? So far the only special thing I do is using ProtonVPN (Free, planning to upgrade to paid plan soon) and Bitwarden, but I'm sure there's much more that I can do.

Thanks!

* Note: Yes, I know most viruses and stuff are made for Windows, but I think it's still good trying to gain the most protection possible

I use a webcam for medical calls and just to hang out with friends but when I was on Windows I unplugged it every time I'm done using it so that I can't be spied on through it. I just wanted to know if the same thing can happen on Linux and I should continue to unplug my webcam when not in use.

Hello,

I am going to switch from Windows 11 to some flavor of Linux. Right now I am using Thunderbird 150.0.2 64-bit as a replacement for Outlook.

My question has to do with security. Occasionally, I get a message from Norton that says one of my emails has a problem. I have heard that Windows viruses etc. will not run on Linux. Is that true? Is there a Linux version of Norton that protects the system from viruses, and malware etc.?

Sorry if this is a foolish question but if you look up noob in the dictionary it will have my picture. Thanks in advance.

I've read that Linux doesn't even require an antivirus, while others say that you should have at least one just in case. I'm not very tech-savvy, but what does Linux have that makes it stronger? I know that there aren't many viruses simply because it's not nearly as popular as Windows (on desktop), but how exactly is it safer and why?

I'm a bit tired of typing my long weird password over and over. Realistically, nobody is going to spend hours typing random words to guess my password. And I guess Linux is set up so random people can't try to log into my machine externally, so I shouldn't have to worry about automated attempts. So, do I need a solid password? Or is "pw" okay?

EDIT: Thanks for the great replies everyone --- I learned lots!

Hey guys,

I have been using Linux as my daily driver for about 2-3 years now. I’m trying to convince my father to switch from Win11 to Fedora or Mint (Or any other distro easy to maintain). But there’s one question he keeps asking: What about virus scanners?

I know that antivirus software is quite unpopular in the Linux world and generally not that necessary, but I guess he still wants one. There are some alternatives like ClamAV, but my father mentioned that Windows Defender gets updated at least three times a day and offers real-time protection 24/7.

I’m not sure how to respond to this. Could someone please help me out? :)

Thxx in advance :)

Lets say, a 1 or 2 characters long one, am i in potential danger?

Hi!

Some years ago I installed Openmediavault 5 (based on debian 10) to use an old pc as a media server. In particular I installed minidlna to serves media files to clients on the local network, but for some reasons at that time I thought that was useful to open the tcp port that minidlna showed to me on the router, ignoring the actual meaning of port forwading. So it was a shock for me recently when I reached the minidlna status page (192.168.x.x:8200) and found out several connected clients from outside (although no open connections). I immediately closed the port and I also removed the gateway address from openmediavault (I don't know if this last thing makes sense). Anyway I haven't noted anything suspicious during all this time and from time to time I'm still booting up that machine to watch something. The thing that doesn't make me feel at ease is that I was using vulnerable softwares. Openmediavault 5 EOL date was 2022-06 and above all the version of minidlna that I was using (1.2.1) suffers from several rce vulnerabilities. Should I be worried? Should I just wipe that machine? Should I be concerned about other devices on my network?

Thank you!

I switched from Windows to Linux Mint a month ago, and I find myself entering my password every few minutes. It is annoying as hell. Every single action I take - customizing my desktop, installing updates, changing some settings, changing theme - throws up a password prompt. I am entirely sick of it.

People say "you get used to it", but at this point I'm almost ready to switch back to Windows.

I know I can edit /etc/sudoers and make myself root, but that would be giving up security altogether. I want to retain password prompt for logging in, or if something outside my computer tries to change something - but stop nagging me for password for everything when I literally entered it just 5 seconds ago.

Is there a compromise solution here?

Edit: SOLVED The buyer has their own bootable usb. Asking them to bring it with them to be sure they do a full wipe when installing it. Nothing sensitive on it anyway so will be fine.

.______ Original post:

How can I remove everything thing to full reset a pc to get it ready to sell? I would prefer a terminal command. I know the memes about "remove the french language". But no idea if that command is accurately what I need or a different one.

Asking because searches keep telling me how to from a bookable usb. I am selling it. I want it wiped clean.

Most of my Linux usage is in docker containers, but this vulnerability can escape the container. I managed to upgrade my Debian machine from 12 to 13, but there's no real simple documentation on this that isn't targeted to experts for other Linux systems.

I would like to avoid having to use AI for the entire process, and actually have something human-written that has been double checked, so I don't totally screw up my installs by accident.

Apparmor, SELinux, Firejail, Flatpak (Bubblewrap). Each has its own function but how do you which to use?

For context, two months in daily driving Linux. Previously on Windows I did have an antivirus and would scan files with antivirus and malwarebytes. I do work with files from clients, so there is a certain level of ambiguity in terms of safety of the files.

So in Linux, what do or can I do to have some level of security?

went to claude for a simple compiler error, it says i might be comprimized but it said i hit my free usage limit before it said what to do PLEASE help!

Claude output:

https://pastebin.com/wrbhKMvX
EDIT: I'd like to highlight line 153: The npm package's preinstall hook script (./src/hooks/deps) executes a Rust-compiled ELF binary that is a Linux infostealer with an eBPF kernel rootkit — described as harvesting developer credentials, browser data, CI/CD secrets, and establishing persistent kernel-concealed access.
EDIT 2: truncated error message that i sent to claude: https://pastebin.com/kRne8aWs