Hello all,

I tried Linux few times ago for the first time, but at the same time I liked the experience and not.

Liked because feel it super customisable and felt if I have more knowledge about it I can do a good things and transform this in a great daily-driver (and nobody are spying me). And I didn’t like because I broke the OS multiple times since I was literally doing things I didn’t know - like delete things just because why not and because im dumb

I backed to windows because I need a specific proprietary software and because I feel it is kind a releaf for know how Windows works. However, my brain during this time is still thinking on Linux. “Lets go, you are capable to do it”

And, this time I catch my oldy-old laptop (has more than 10/15 years) and just created a bootable pen-iso with LMDE. Put it, install it and even with this laptop is more slow than a turtle, Im loving the experience. Why? Because of the first time I understand what I NEVER DO on Linux.

And because I feel , with more time and knowledge, I can make an excellent OS for my purposes. I’m understanding this is ultra customisable and I can do a lot of automation’s to work with my linux I can make this my daily driver. And this is the first time I feel this with Linux and dont want break this special thing with me and the beautiful penguin.

However, since I almost know nothing , I’m afraid to do things wrong and get a malware, spyware or break security measures of OS. I install a .deb file, but at the same time I’m afraid to install it lol. Yeah, this is dumb, but dont know. My brain is overwhelmed .

I saw the XZ backdoor and think if this happens, what I need to do, or precautions I need to make. I see a video about antivirus/scan system (like ClamAV) but dont know nothing about it. Dont know if this helps me or not.

Can you elucidate me? Can you put some calm on my brain to understand the good measures i need to make on my Linux experience?

And if you know how can i get more knowledge and understanding about the Linux System, I appreciate any advice’s , tips , tutorials , and so on …

Thank you and wish you a lovely day.

by very-dumb-linux-user-who-wants-achieve-great-things-with-it

  • RmDebArc_5@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    2·
    10 hours ago

    LMDE uses Debian repos which are very well tested, meaning stuff like the XZ back door will most likely not affect you because it is found before you get the update. ClamAV is not designed to recognize malware for Linux only on Linux, so not what you want in your case. My recommendation is to stick to distro packages (well tested) or flathub (sandboxed), which are available in mints app manager. If that isn’t an option try getting the software as an appimage, it isn’t sandboxed but also doesn’t have root access. Otherwise general rules apply: be wary of sketchy websites, use ublock with the malware filter list etc.

    Tap for spoiler

    You could potentially use distrobox to install a .deb sandboxed, but as it isn’t in the Debian repository or available as a .deb it isn’t something I would do as a beginner, even if there is no substantial difficulty in installing