Favorite Linux Distro & Favorite Linux apps?

Discussion in 'all things UNIX' started by bellgamin, Mar 2, 2023.

  1. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    THANKS for alerting us to this AV!!!

    I just downloaded ESET Endpoint Antivirus from HERE. No mention was made of money -- that's unusual -- ESET is not known for offering freebies. I wonder: do they update the signatures?
     
  2. reasonablePrivacy

    reasonablePrivacy Registered Member

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    Even if it would be a need for AV protection of Gnu/Linux... None have sufficient data to protect Linux systems at the moment. AVs on Linux currently mostly protect against files that can harm... Windows and to lesser extent Android OSes.
    If you have network (especially enterprise network) with interconnected Windows and Linux machines that frequently sens/receive files from one another then there is some advantage to a network as a whole, because Linux is usually hacked from infected Windows machines.
    Otherwise I see only waste of CPU and I/O resources.
     
  3. Jimmy9190

    Jimmy9190 Registered Member

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    I am new to Linux myself. I only started with it about a week ago and still have a lot to learn. I am on Mint Cinnamon. I tried Ubuntu but just did not like it much. Mint is working fine but I have not really picked any apps. I use the default Firefox browser, that is one thing I really like about Linux. I am checking out a few music players, probably will settle on VLC, I am already familiar with it. So far I have only run one command, to keep the number lock on all the time. I had to research it online but it worked and was easy to do.

    I still use my Yahoo and Gmail email accounts in the FF browser but may move to Thunderbird at some point in the future. Right now I am dual booting Mint with Windows 10 on a 6 year old laptop with 6 GB of Ram and a 1TB hard drive. It has been a learning experience but so far I am pretty satisfied with Mint. The first time I tried mint was a little intimidating but I decided to try again and will take the time to learn it. I looked at Zorin too but I think Mint is the better option for me.

    Jimmy
     
  4. JEAM

    JEAM Registered Member

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    Huh, I've definitely been paying for mine. FWIW, it's version 9.0.5.0. Maybe you're getting a free trial period? :doubt:

    Regarding signature updates, here's a screenshot:

    ESET Endpint Antivirus.png
     
  5. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    Very insightful comment! In effect, there just isn't enough experiential data, at present, for an antivirus to build up a sufficiently inclusive spectrum of malware signatures. Too bad there isn't a VoodooShield-type of app for Linux. VoodooShield for Windows is a whitelist/default-deny/anti-execute security app. It is a highly effective anti-malware app, even though it is not signature-based.

    Because I back-up everything at least twice weekly, the possibility of an infection isn't all that bothersome. What IS bothersome is that a malware might be able to connect out before I detected its presence. On Windows, I protect against this possibility with the app-by-app controls provided by Evorim Firewall (FW).

    Linux has is a built-in FW. However, that FW has no GUI. I turned that FW on & set it to default-deny for incoming connections, as recommended. As yet, however, I can find no newbie-friendly GUI for setting up that FW with app-by-app controls over outgoing connections. I am on the hunt for something to fill this gap. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    At last -- a newer newbie than me! :p
     
  6. chrisretusn

    chrisretusn Registered Member

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    Operating System: Slackware64-current
    KDE Plasma Version: 5.27.2
    KDE Frameworks Version: 5.103.0
    Qt Version: 5.15.8
    Kernel Version: 6.1.15 (64-bit)
    Graphics Platform: X11
    Processors: 4 × AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 840 Processor
    Memory: 7.8 GiB of RAM
    Graphics Processor: NVIDIA GeForce GT 730/PCIe/SSE2
    Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
    Product Name: M68MT-S2

    Favorite programs:
    Shown on Icons-only Task Manager: Kfind, Firefox, Konsole, Claws Mail, Grsync, Calc, Kwrite, Dolpihin
    In Favorites excluding those above: System Settings, Keepass, Steam, VeraCrypt, Xsane, LibreOffice, digiKam, calibre, gImageReader, KmyMoney, Kedenlive, PrintSettings, qBittorrent, Skype, Zoom, GnuCash, Dropbox, Knotes, Google Earth, ksnip, Discord, Stellarium, RSS Guard, VirtualBox, Telegram. Chromium.
    Icons showing in System Tray: Kate Sessions Launcher, Knotes, Telegram, RSS Guard, DropBox, qBittorent
    Others: Gwenview, htop, nano, mc, Okular, Scribus, Spectacle, LabPlot2, rsnapshot, WireShark
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2023
  7. 0strodamus

    0strodamus Registered Member

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    You may be able to do this on Linux with TOMOYO Mandatory Access Control depending on how you set up your domain policy. I'm using it to restrict internet access to all applications by default and to control file/resource access for allowed apps and those using Wine. TOMOYO may be available in your kernel if it was compiled with it and you would just need to get or compile the userspace tools to use it as described here. I would highly recommend testing in a VM, especially if you're trying to restrict app execution.
    The only GUIs I am aware of for iptables rules are firewalld and gufw. Have you seen OpenSnitch? It's not a GUI for setting up iptables, but I think it's something you may find interesting for controlling application internet access via an easy to use GUI.
     
  8. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    You overestimate my Linux skill level...
    >There are several possible downloads. Mystery: which one to use for Zorin?
    >The app doesn't have its own installer. Instead, installation must be done via the Terminal. Several specific commands are provided. Mystery: which one to use?

    I have put OpenSnitch on my list for later on -- when I have learned a good bit more about Linux's many differences from Windows. I deeply appreciate your calling it to my attention.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    @ FELLOW USERS OF THUNDERBIRD: I can't find any setting to make T-bird STOP receiving mail every time I open it. I only want it to receive mail when I tell it to do so. Is there any way to accomplish this?
     
  9. Gringo95

    Gringo95 Registered Member

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    I`ve moved around the distro world quite a bit for various reasons including being a reviewer at one point. Looking from an average end-users perspective I wonder why so many like to install Arch based systems or worse something Gentoo based and then post in the forums when it breaks. Fine if you like sorting broken systems or learning Linux in general but for everyone else who just wants to switch on their machine and not worry a Debian or Ubuntu base is as much better option.

    I was recently impressed with the first (public) release of Tuxedo OS until with V2 they decided to leverage the Neon repos and the mountain of updates that goes with it. Now not for me.

    Seeing how updates and their dependency related issues cause the most headaches you can make a logical argument for distros that don’t rely on external links by being ‘based on’ something else but then there are always other issues with these distros such as restricted software availability and/or oddball installers that won’t make these too attractive for everyone.

    One IMO that is worth a look is NuTyX. It’s quite innovative to be truly different but with enough software titles to suit most home users plus the developer is quick to respond in their forum. I use this on two production machines with Firefox and the Flatpak version of Betterbird since I must have a tray indication for new mail which unless I’ve missed something is no longer available for Thunderbird since Birdtray ceased development and stopped working after V91.
     
  10. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    I've tried 6 distros on my old Lenovo T540p. And the only one that fully functions in a live session is Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS. Lite, Xubuntu, LXLE, Mint, Puppy & Ubuntu 22.xx all failed one way or another.
     
  11. Joxx

    Joxx Registered Member

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    GUFW is a relatively simple interface for UFW (which comes pre-installed in Debian/Ubuntu). Those familiar with Windows FWs like Comodo or Online Armor should feel at home.
    https://itsfoss.com/set-up-firewall-gufw/
     
  12. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    Bellgamin,

    I'm not aware of an application control firewall for Linux. Setting UFW to default-deny incoming will suit you fine as a home user.

    With UFW you can set it also to default-deny outgoing, and then create the necessary outgoing IP, Protocol and Port specific rules, but you might not be comfortable doing that yet.
     
  13. Jimmy9190

    Jimmy9190 Registered Member

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    Yep I am the newest new guy with Linux I guess. The more I use it the better I like it. I am getting to know the OS and trying to learn what I can do with it and what it is capable of. I really like how FF looks and works in Mint. So far I have not tried any other browser. The last few days I have been sampling the different media players in Mint. I am taking my time with the entire OS though and reading a lot about it.

    Jimmy
     
  14. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    @Gringo95 -- I always learn from your comments. Based on what you wrote, I am very grateful that, via fate's fickle finger, I chose an Ubuntu-based Distro (Zorin Pro) as the "serious" OS for my recently acquired HP laptop. I am liking Linux so much that I have FINALLY decided to use Zorin instead of Win7 as my go-to.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    @zapjb -- I once had a Lenovo T540p whereon I had gradually acquired a LOT of RPGs -- both graphical & text-based. One of my grandsons wanted that computer because of the games. I gave it to him :'( because (1) he liked my ukulele playing, & (2) that laptop's numeric keypad often got in the way of the way I play.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    @Joxx -- Per the write-ups for GUFW + UFW, that duo looks VERY promising as a FW after my own heart. After my visiting daughter retuns to CONUS, I will get around to giving that duo a trial. Thanks for the link!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    @ FELLOW USERS OF THUNDERBIRD: I can't find any setting to make T-bird STOP receiving mail every time I open it. I only want it to receive mail when I tell it to do so. Is there any way to accomplish this?
     
  15. virion

    virion Registered Member

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    Aloha, bellgamin!

    I’m not a Thunderbird expert, but I think this should work for you:

    Go to Edit > Account Settings > Server Settings. Then, uncheck the box for ‘Check for new messages at startup’

    Congrats on becoming a Linux user! You seem to be doing really great.

    (Fedora Plasma, full-time Linux user since November 2013.)
     
  16. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    @virion -- That did it!. Thanks to the nth power. :thumb::thumb::thumb:
     
  17. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    Well, there is OpenSnitch as mentioned by @0strodamus. However, I doubt that it's worth the trouble.

    I agree!

    Code:
    sudo ufw enable
    sudo ufw default deny
    is sufficient.
     
  18. Gringo95

    Gringo95 Registered Member

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    I'm pleased your Linux experience is proving positive. Zorin is a great choice and remains hugely popular especially among new Linux users.

    For email I'm an Evolution fan but if you're into Thunderbird you might also like to check out Betterbird which has a more comprehensive feature set including a tray notification for new mail which Thunderbird lost after V91 when Birdtray stopped development. See the 'feature table' link on the Betterbird page.
    https://www.betterbird.eu/##
     
  19. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    I haven't tried Zorin but guess that it's using the Ubuntu repositories. I don't think that Betterbird is available from them (correct me if I'm wrong). Suggesting an application which is not in the official repos to a Linux newbie is problematic, IMO, as it goes against the most important rule: Stick with the official repositories!
     
  20. reasonablePrivacy

    reasonablePrivacy Registered Member

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    I don't know that program. Sometimes I catch myself not keeping up with recent Gnu/Linux developments :eek:

    Anyway it is worth to note that most GUI firewalls (with some notable exceptions like Opensnitch) are just issuing iptables or nftables commands under the hood which in turn configure netfilter. I recall that in the past netfilter developers didn't like calling it firewall because mamy people associate firewall with app level control. Netfilter mainly allows to modify or block traffic based on typical network packet fields such as IP address or protocol port number or protocol-level state etc
    Linux devs stance was that app level restrictions schould be applied by MAC mechanisms such as SELinux or Tomoyo.
     
  21. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    Betterbird is included with the Zorin PRO Distro. I tried T-bird for a while. Then I switched to Betterbird. B-bird is a super friendly email client -- plus its calendar component is much easier to use than T-bird's.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Zorin's package manager gave me the choice of a LOT of screenshot apps. I chose one with the name, "Screenshot." Its icon looks like a Leica camera I once owned, back in the lovely days of film-based photography.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Versus the Package Managers (PM) of most of the other Distros I have tried, I much prefer Zorin's. What I really like about Zorin's PM is: (A) It installs apps REALLY fast. (B) It doesn't give me a long list of what it's doing to accomplish the install. It simply does it. (C) It's the same thing when the PM uninstalls -- no lists of what it's doing. It simply (& quickly) does it.
     
  22. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    I missed that post. Thanks for pointing it out.

    EDIT

    Browsing the Github site, this is still WIP (Work in progress) currently at RC5 and a warning it may contain bugs. Looks interesting, and a project I will keep an eye on.
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2023
  23. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    So far Tuxedo OS 2 works (live session) better than even Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS on my Lenovo T540p. So of all 7 distros I've tried Tuxedo works best in a live session. I'm hoping to triple boot W7P64, W11P & a yet to be determined Linux distro on my Lenovo T540p 500GB laptop. Any easy (easiest) tutorials please link for me, hopefully tutorials followed successfully by the linker. TY.
     
  24. Gringo95

    Gringo95 Registered Member

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    Betterbird is an official app for Zorin. It's pulled from the Flathub repo.
     
  25. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    Ah, I see. Thanks!
     
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