I switched to Linux for security and privacy. I'm experiencing the opposite.

[Baptisedinfire]

Hello I'm Joe I'm not a tech guy and I used to be a wildland firefighter for 16 years then I switched and became an arborist. I've never really used a computer until June of 2023. I heard that Linux is better and I would have more control with it.
I'm not sure how to say what I'm experiencing so I'm going to just say it the way I talk. Well I did a brake job for a friend of mine and he gave me a laptop with Windows 11. I didn't know that the Internet was not private and other people can come in and out of my system as they please. I have a problem with this so I started to learn the terminal.
April 30th , this day sticks hard because I paid my phone bill and got a new phone so I connected to my friends Wi-Fi to set it up. I was experiencing unfamiliar functions that was seeming to be maybe I was compromised.
Again I apologize for my gramer and to make a long story short I didn't know what to do when I saw someone messing around in my phone and I started deleting my apps and that weekend I lost 3 devices due to mdm and data overload. Whoever did this also contacted my phone carrier and changed my email. And this went on for 6 months every phone tablet, laptop, desktop I got. No communication for 6 months. I complained to Google, Microsoft, Apple told me nothing they can do because I had Google apps on my iPhone.
So Linux became my go to system. I'm 50 and I suck at Linux but I'm better than I was 3 years ago.
I am wanting to make sure I'm doing this right when I get your free software so I'm not battling the wrong people, I have lost so many devices do to my developer stalker and I can be an asshole when changes are made in my system. I'm not nice about it anymore. Linux is where it's at and it's something I want to teach to my kids but still my compromiser makes everything difficult and it doesn't matter where I get my software, this guy said to me that he will own every device I have for the rest of my life.. Okay I will get to the point. If it's open source does this mean anyone can come into my system and do a GNU license and modify the Linux distros I run .. Do I have to due a license to run Linux programs? And again I apologize for this if it's not the proper way, I don't know out of 3 years and 20 plus devices smoked I have never heard anything back from big tech on my complaints, emails and feedback. I want to make sure I am downloading your software right and if I am not just inform me the way I'm supposed to.
Sincerely your's, the new guy
Joe

 

[Alexzee]

Hello & Welcome to Linux.org Baptisedinfire-

No, you do not have to have a license to run Linux programs.

No, not just anyone can gain access to your installed Linux system (without elevated privileges) to change your distributions performance and functionality.

--There are ways to practice machine Hardening so hackers can't easily get into your Linux system.--
Usually a particular program or application can be modified by the developers or creator of that program or distribution.

As far as downloading any software that you would want to install on your system the general practice is this:

-If you can pull from the distributions repository or backport and you trust it your software will run well.

• If you don't trust the source and it can't 'be verified', it's not something you would want to install on your Linux box.
• If the command-line interpreter for your Linux system (APT) can't find it, it either doesn't exist or isn't worth having.

In the 15 years I've been running Debian stable, Linux Mint, Slackware, Fedora and Black Arch I have not experienced any problems with software I've downloaded from a source I've trusted.

 

[Condobloke]

G'day Joe, Welcome to linux.org

This is a complex problem you are facing. It can be driven many different places/people

Do you live in a stand alone house....or an apartment......do you use a wireless connection or do you run an ethernet cable from the modem/router to your pc

The possibilities are almost endless.

Do you use your phone to access the internet

 

[Condobloke]

this guy said to me that he will own every device I have for the rest of my life.

How did he communicate with you ??....email, sms, etc etc etc ...??

 

[Brickwizard]

Welcome to the forums,
Linux is inherently more secure than more popular OS's because of its structure [nothing can insert itself in the core system without your say so] having said that no OS is totally secure, so how do you make it as secure as possible,
first is what and where you download your Linux apps, always use the distribution repository as a first choice [many apps may be taylord to your specific distribution] second would be what we call approved sources [flat pack, GitHub, manufacturers own sites ] NEVER download from a 3rd party link it may take you to a corrupt download site,
make sure you use a secure password for your machine and even more important on sites you subscribe to, next is a brief post i made a few years back on our residents' association [many are even older than me] [to be continued]

Security and safety on social media and the Internet [by Brickwizard]
The most widely used passwords are just that "password" or some variant [Brianspassword, password2, etc] The second most common are key runs, [12345678,Qwertyu,zxcvbnM, etc]
Then come the phishers favourite passwords,
The names of your favourite things, and the names and birthdates of your family,
I am sure you have all seen them on social media, but have you twigged they are information gathering, any round-robin that include what is the name of your favourite **** name a record that was number one when you were born, which colour will you choose, what does your name mean? All these and others are there to collect information that could lead to your password, and the majority of social media users do not realise this and happily give away the leads,Do NOT reply to any of these post.
To make a strong password, take 2 or 3 words at random totalling 12 letters or more, string them together in lower case, then change at least 4 to capitals [but not at the beginning or end of words] then change some letters to numbers at random, and finally insert a few wild cards [-=/,?+£$ etc] when you have finished you should have a very strong password of at least 15 letters

 

[wizardfromoz]

G'day Joe from another bloke DownUnder, and welcome

I put a Love on your post, not because of the trials and tribulations you have been forced to face, but because we have seen similar stories to yours, sadly, a number of times.

You'll see from my signature the reference to Kevlar and Linux, and that is true in my experience, which constitutes 16 years using it, and nearly 12 years exclusively to other OSes.

During that time, nothing has compromised Linux that could not be fixed within hours or at most a day, by the Linux Community.

I'll leave you in capable hands, but watch, and contribute if I can lend assistance.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

 

[Brickwizard]

Part 2

there are other ways you can improve your security, some of the following may be a bit more complicated but here goes

whenever possible use a hard-wired system [Ethernet and USB connections] if you have to use wi-fi, and you own your router/modem change the master password and the same goes for anything connected to your computer by wi-fi, say wireless printer as most leave the factory with a default password which works on all that companies products.

do not leave blue tooth on unless it is necessary when away from home get in the habit of turning off when not in use.

The next suggestions will have an effect on your surfing

you can harden your UFW [the inbuilt fire wall] it has 3 settings, I keep mine on the mid-setting [office]

you can harden your internet security by approved add on's and features, but be aware these actions will affect the flexibility of its operation

if you are worried about tracking then use a VPN or simpler install and use Anonsurf [this is an app by parotsec it may not work on all distributions] or the TOR browser

E-mail set yourself up with separate e-mail accounts one for important stuff [the bank , the tax office close family etc] one for everyday use [on line shopping feeds you want to receive subscriptions etc] and a junk one which you use when you need to register with a site but only use them occasionally and don't want to be over come with junk mail [every day i open mine skim down the incoming and either open the odd one or more often just delete the lot.

that's it for now. Anything else just ask

 

[Brickwizard]

G'day Joe from another bloke DownUnder, and welcome

I didn't realise he was yet another Antipodean I had better go back to my old greeting.....

Linux is a journey of learning, so kick off your shoes, sit back, grab a tinnie, and enjoy the ride

 

[wizardfromoz]

...he was yet another Antipodean...

No (well, I don't know) I was referring to t'other Brian as having said G'day, duffer

 

[f33dm3bits]

Hello and welcome!

April 30th , this day sticks hard because I paid my phone bill and got a new phone so I connected to my friends Wi-Fi to set it up. I was experiencing unfamiliar functions that was seeming to be maybe I was compromised.
Again I apologize for my gramer and to make a long story short I didn't know what to do when I saw someone messing around in my phone and I started deleting my apps and that weekend I lost 3 devices due to mdm and data overload. Whoever did this also contacted my phone carrier and changed my email. And this went on for 6 months every phone tablet, laptop, desktop I got. No communication for 6 months. I complained to Google, Microsoft, Apple told me nothing they can do because I had Google apps on my iPhone.

it doesn't matter where I get my software, this guy said to me that he will own every device I have for the rest of my life.. Okay I will get to the point. If it's open source does this mean anyone can come into my system and do a GNU license and modify the Linux distros I run .. Do I have to due a license to run Linux programs? And again I apologize for this if it's not the proper way, I don't know out of 3 years and 20 plus devices smoked I have never heard anything back from big tech on my complaints, emails and feedback. I want to make sure I am downloading your software right and if I am not just inform me the way I'm supposed to.

The only way this can happen is your developer who ever this is puts malware in the software you get from this developer, this can happen on Windows as well if a developer puts malware in the software which you install. In Linux mostly you install software from the distributions repos. Snaps and Flatpaks can be generally seen as a trusted third party repo as well but these are special so I won't go into them for now to avoid confusing .

There is software that isn't in the repos where developers make a package available in so form so that you can install it where you either have to activate a license or pay a fee before you can download it with an account. So more of the question is where do you get whatever software you use from whoever this developer is you are talking about? Do you trust this person? As this developer threatening to get into all your systems when using Linux, could do the same on Windows if they put malware in any software that you install from them.

In short I'm quite confused as to what your situation is who this developer who you install software or packages from on your phone and computer? It sounds more like this developer is already a bad actor as he is threatening you about being able to access your devices? Who says he wasn't already giving you software infected with malware while you were on Windows? Maybe he is just saying the things he is saying about Linux because his software doesn't work on Linux and now he's done something to whatever software you installed on your phone to make you think that he has control over all of your devices since he can't do anything to your pc anymore.

Again it's hard to ge ta full picture of your actual situation but it sounds more of combination of him trying to scare you yet you also use a paid phone app from him with malware in it or something like that. Doesn't come across as a very trustworthy developer as how you describe this developer.

 

[kc1di]

Hello @Baptisedinfire
Welcome to the Linux.org forum, enjoy the journey!
you will get excellent help here. so will just welcome you to the group and let the experts guide you.

 

[APTI]

Hello I'm Joe I'm not a tech guy and I used to be a wildland firefighter for 16 years then I switched and became an arborist. I've never really used a computer until June of 2023. I heard that Linux is better and I would have more control with it.
I'm not sure how to say what I'm experiencing so I'm going to just say it the way I talk. Well I did a brake job for a friend of mine and he gave me a laptop with Windows 11. I didn't know that the Internet was not private and other people can come in and out of my system as they please. I have a problem with this so I started to learn the terminal.
April 30th , this day sticks hard because I paid my phone bill and got a new phone so I connected to my friends Wi-Fi to set it up. I was experiencing unfamiliar functions that was seeming to be maybe I was compromised.
Again I apologize for my gramer and to make a long story short I didn't know what to do when I saw someone messing around in my phone and I started deleting my apps and that weekend I lost 3 devices due to mdm and data overload. Whoever did this also contacted my phone carrier and changed my email. And this went on for 6 months every phone tablet, laptop, desktop I got. No communication for 6 months. I complained to Google, Microsoft, Apple told me nothing they can do because I had Google apps on my iPhone.
So Linux became my go to system. I'm 50 and I suck at Linux but I'm better than I was 3 years ago.
I am wanting to make sure I'm doing this right when I get your free software so I'm not battling the wrong people, I have lost so many devices do to my developer stalker and I can be an asshole when changes are made in my system. I'm not nice about it anymore. Linux is where it's at and it's something I want to teach to my kids but still my compromiser makes everything difficult and it doesn't matter where I get my software, this guy said to me that he will own every device I have for the rest of my life.. Okay I will get to the point. If it's open source does this mean anyone can come into my system and do a GNU license and modify the Linux distros I run .. Do I have to due a license to run Linux programs? And again I apologize for this if it's not the proper way, I don't know out of 3 years and 20 plus devices smoked I have never heard anything back from big tech on my complaints, emails and feedback. I want to make sure I am downloading your software right and if I am not just inform me the way I'm supposed to.
Sincerely your's, the new guy
Joe

Listen to the people in here. They are guiding you right. I am an American firefighter so I hear my brother from down under. If you have issues or questions, bring them up in here or contact me. Either way we will do you right.