this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2025
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Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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I have used Windows all my life, and I have some questions. (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 days ago by ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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Basically the forced shift to the enshittified Windows 11 in october has me eyeing the fence a lot. But all I know about Linux is 1: it's a cantankerous beast that can smell your fear and lack of computer skills and 2: that's apparently not true any more? Making the change has slowly become a more real possibility for me, though I'm pretty much a fairly casual PC-user, I don't do much more than play games. So I wrote down some questions I had about Linux.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a "Linux Update" program like what Windows has?

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

And also, what distro might be best for me?

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[–] coolie4@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a "Linux Update" program like what Windows has?

This is known as a package manager. The package manager (along with some default settings and preinstalled packages) is what makes each Linux distro different. For instance, Debian uses apt, Arch uses pacman, Gentoo uses emerge.

Each package manager uses a different way to upgrade software. For instance apt update refreshes the global list of available software and versions and apt upgrade finds differences between that list and what you have installed, and upgrades as needed.

There also snaps and flatpacks, but I don't support the use of those.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Yes and no. Open source allows attackers to find vulnerability in code, but also means more eyes are on that same code and able to fix those vulnerabilities.

Although permissions can largely be ignored on Windows, its critical to Linux. Its a little much to explain here, but a standard install is fairly secure because of permissions. The important thing to remember is to harden the root account (no remote login) and be very careful what you execute with the sudo command.

Many people [incorrectly] don't use AV because historically Linux hasn't been much of a target due to low adoption. The trifecta of software I use are ufw as a system-level firewall, fail2ban to block an attacker who tries to bruteforce entry and repeatedly fails, and ClamAV for AV.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Yup

And also, what distro might be best for me?

I think Mint is currently the recommended distro for new users. It used to be Ubuntu, but canonical has been doing some very anti-community things lately.