Freeze-ups while using Linux Mint in LiveCD mode

Sigma333

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So I use Linux Mint 18.3 Mate in LiveCD mode for online shopping/banking. During a one hour session I am encountering multiple freezes, where the keyboard and/or mouse stops responding, and I can hear the spin of the DVD burner speed up. Sometimes (but not always) I get a popup saying this page is causing a problem, or a script on this page is causing a problem. In the case of the latter, it asks if I want to stop the script, but if I click yes, this process repeats in about ten minutes. Is there a GUI way to stop the freezes?
 


Personally, I'd grab one of the much more recent Linux Mint images to see if the problem goes away simply due to using more modern software.
 
So I use Linux Mint 18.3 Mate in LiveCD mode for online shopping/banking. During a one hour session I am encountering multiple freezes, where the keyboard and/or mouse stops responding, and I can hear the spin of the DVD burner speed up. Sometimes (but not always) I get a popup saying this page is causing a problem, or a script on this page is causing a problem. In the case of the latter, it asks if I want to stop the script, but if I click yes, this process repeats in about ten minutes. Is there a GUI way to stop the freezes?
1.) Use a newer version of Linux Mint.
2.) How much RAM do you have in that machine? A "Live" version of any distro will run in RAM. Web browsers are notorious for gobbling up RAM. Most of them use more and more RAM as usage continues.
 
Personally, I'd grab one of the much more recent Linux Mint images to see if the problem goes away simply due to using more modern software.

I have Linux Mint 19.2, and there is no improvement. Actually if you count the various changes in this revision, it's a big step down, as it is even less intuitive than 18.3. This seems to be a constant in the distros I have tried, which is why I tend to stick to a particular version I like, rather than doing the M$-style musical chairs game of hopping to every new one.
 
why I tend to stick to a particular version I like

That's horrible security-wise. That's pretty much the exact opposite of how I'd do banking online. Your OS contains known security vulnerabilities - known as in published and with exploits in the wild.
 
1.) Use a newer version of Linux Mint.
2.) How much RAM do you have in that machine? A "Live" version of any distro will run in RAM. Web browsers are notorious for gobbling up RAM. Most of them use more and more RAM as usage continues.

I have the maximum RAM possible for OptiPlex 960 (8GB). Linux Mint 18.3 worked fine when I first started using it a year or two ago. Not really sure how many months it has been since I first noticed the problem, but nothing has changed on my rig since the beginning. Whenever I get a 'new' rig from eBay, I always follow the same procedure. Take it in to the computer shop for a full on malware search and destroy, clean the insides if needed, then do any modifications I want done...in this case I had the RAM upped from 4GB, installed a mobile rack in the spare 5.25 bay, and replaced the DVD-ROM with a Asus DRW-24B1ST.
 
That's horrible security-wise. That's pretty much the exact opposite of how I'd do banking online. Your OS contains known security vulnerabilities - known as in published and with exploits in the wild.

My XP Pro has 741 vulnerabilities according to cvedetails. After 3+ years and 5000 hours exploring the internet, I'm still waiting for even one of all them much promised (threatened?) viruses, rootkits, trojans, and exploits to come calling. Just because something has x number of vulnerabilities is no guarantee you will ever actually see even one.

Cvedetails list of vulnerabilities for Linux Mint is rather underwhelming:
...I would suspect these are for installed versions (not LiveCD mode), and likely come from email, torrenting, downloads or some other risky business that has nothing to do with online banking or shopping. Maybe the first time I actually see some impact of all these threats, I'll revise my opinion, but until then probably not. I'd tend to bet that Linux Mint 18.3, in LiveCD mode, is at least as bulletproof as XP Pro, which has been EOL/EOS for over five years.
 
Your link is for *current*, properly updated Linux Mint. It doesn't contain the hundreds of vulnerabilities that have been fixed in the interim. Subscribe to the security vulnerabilities lists and see how many there are. Your OS has no newer security fixes than like 2019 or whenever that was released.

Just because you've successfully played Russian Roulette doesn't mean you're gonna keep 'winning'.

It's your OS and your banking details, so do what you want. When, not if, your data gets compromised we'll be here to help you get it sorted on the tech end.
 
Your link is for *current*, properly updated Linux Mint. It doesn't contain the hundreds of vulnerabilities that have been fixed in the interim. Subscribe to the security vulnerabilities lists and see how many there are. Your OS has no newer security fixes than like 2019 or whenever that was released.

Just because you've successfully played Russian Roulette doesn't mean you're gonna keep 'winning'.

It's your OS and your banking details, so do what you want. When, not if, your data gets compromised we'll be here to help you get it sorted on the tech end.

I'd trust cvedetails over the various Chicken Little sites:


....and I'm not seeing much to fret over:




...but if you have a better cvedetails link, I'll gladly look it over.

Linux Mint forum put it best:

Playing Russian Roulette for 5000 hours with zero blood splatter? Now that has gotta be a worlds record...somebody call Guinness! If an outdated Linux distro (in LiveCD mode no less) can't match an installed EOL/EOS M$ rendition (with outdated browsers) for safety, then I don't know what to tell ya.

"we'll be here to help you get it sorted on the tech end."

Maybe you might want to try that on the title of this post 'Freeze-ups while using Linux Mint in LiveCD mode', before making bigger promises. Best to slay the baby dragon before challenging the real deal. Baby steps.

When actual reality starts supporting the chatter, when I have to call in my computer tech for a housecall, or call a taxi to cart my PC down to the computer shop, then my opinion will be revised. Until then I will view the EOL/EOS suppositions as a molehill overinflated into a mountain...a common practice since Y2K, becoming ever more common in recent years.
 
Sounds like maybe the internet has moved on and you haven't kept up. Do the freezes happen on the same web pages each time? 18.3 is EOL and you won't get any more updates that includes updates to web browsers. As rendering engines change and the web is ever more demanding of resources.
Good luck in finding a solution that works for you.
 
if you have USB booting I think you will find it runs better and rather than runnung the iso version from the disck I have had better luck for mobile use by installing to the pendrive as a harddrive rather than an image
 
I second brickwizard's suggestion. I think the problem might be the DVD drive not holding up running a LiveCD for that long. Use a USB stick instead.
 
Usb would surely be faster.
 

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