G'day kwacontrol, Welcome to Linux.org
your position in the Linux world is quite obvious. You are a beginner, although you seem somewhat confused/frustrated.
Before you get to drive a truck, it is an excellent idea to learn how to drive a car, first.
Taking on things like cachyos and/or Arch is not for those still trying to find their feet. It takes experience....either that or someone with experience teaching you. In that teaching scenario, would you have a clue what you are really doing?...No.
The place to start, is where you will receive the most help, sound advice, and follow up if you need it at whatever stage.
There are lots of folk who regard Linux Mint as a beginners distro. I think/know that is wrong. Linux mint simply has the biggest following. Therefore there is more help available, there is more knowledge available.
There is nothing 'easy' about Linux Mint. There simply more people with good knowledge about how to use it/how it works/how to safeguard data on it etc etc etc....
and most importantly the people with that knowledge are willing to share that knowledge.
Why do I recommend Linux Mint? It is rock solid and reliable, with an abundance of apps available, It just works.
Other members will recommend different OS's for different reasons, they are all worth listening to.
At the end of the day, which one you use is your decision/choice....
what fits you
Some distro's suit gaming more than others. there quite a number of members here who game....lots of them in fact. Some use Linux Mint, some don't. What's the difference I hear you ask....probably just the DE (desktop environment).....what you see when the pc boots up and you are presented with a particular layout ...
@f33dm3bits can tell you more about that.
I do not like snap packages. They take up enormous amounts of room. Running in a sandbox is cool, but I do not find the need for them. They also have a 'not so good' reputation with Linux Mint . The lead developer of Linux Mint, Clem Lefebvre explains why they are not liked,
HERE
Uninstalling Firefox is not hard in Debian, or anywhere else for that matter. I have no experience of Debian, but I can only assume they have some sort of Software Manage/repository similar to Mint. Firefox can be uninstalled in that software manager, or in Synaptic package manager. A few clicks and it's gone.
Why did you wish to uninstall Firefox ?
don't understand how now everybody seems to use "CachyOS"
For some unknown reason cachyos has attracted a lot of attention. i have no idea why. Lots of people have downloaded it according to distrowatch.com ...how many people continue to use it, is unknown.
You said up above, that you always find a hole in your search for privacy.
What does 'privacy' mean to you?
I maintain that privacy /security etc are linked to the user....closely.
I read some of the members complaints here, who have moved to linux from Windows, and they detail the number of times that they have sacrificed their personal information in order to use certain parts of windows.
So, as the user there, they willingly gave away their personal info/data etc etc so they could continue using windows. That is a huge cost.
I could ramble on for pages, but after reading what I and others have said here, it is probably time for some more input from you.
Just a bit more to read/wrap your mind about. I wrote this a few years ago over at reddit.
The vast majority of Linux users accept the security of Linux "on faith"....simply because it has been that way for many years, and would appear to be going to continue that way.
Their attitude is understandable, because behind all that you see, is a complex web of people who keep Linux safe. The number of people involved would astound you. They are spread worldwide, there are a huge number of 'failsafes' built in...so that errors/mistakes etc rarely, if ever, happen.
At my level, (11 years on Linux Mint, 8 years on
linux.org forums) I am quite content to trust the process, but I also keep a wary eye out for 'changes' that do not make sense.....that set off an alarm bell, if and when I see them. i am definitely not a paranoiac. I leave that state of mind for those who are thus inclined.
As far as I am aware, there is no facility to check, checksums or hashes etc etc for Linux Mint software.
Is it possible I am mistaken ?.......yes, of course......But I do not think I am.
When it comes to managing packages, you do have to trust something. After all, trust is an integral part of life.
Linux Software, eg Gimp, is to be found in the Software Manager.
In menu, type in Software Manager....as it appears, right click on it and select 'add to panel'
This will place the icon for the software manager in your panel (task bar)
A single click on that icon will open it. If this is the firt time it has run, give it a minute to load the repository. Any time after the initial loading will be much quicker
Type in gimp to the search area. Install it from there. You can also uninstall from there.
How do you know it is safe?...Experience. From installing from that place countless times without incident.
Software from the internet. This is a risk. For well know apps, the risk is somewhat reduced, but you are trusting that no one has interfered with that site. people like mozilla (firefox) and chrome (google etc) go to great lengths to keep heir sites safe. They have a vested interest ($) in keeping their sites clean.
However...if you see a site with an app for doing something that is attractive but more obscure than is usual for example : (
https://obsproject.com/)
....would you trust it ?...really ???
Because I have the experience that I have....if I really wanted/needed that particular software......i would download it.
At the first sign of something 'not right' ....i would use sudo apt purge package/app name....and then sudo apt autoremove .......to rid my system of it. I may even do a Restore in Timeshift to go back a day or two to get completely away from it, as well as wiping any Timeshift snapshot that had been taken the day I installed that software.
It is a fact that the Software Manager (also called the Repository) has a huge number of apps. It is equally true that there is no list of contents which you search. The only way you can discover what is in there is by experimentation. When I see an app somewhere...often on a users post at
Linux.org etc....I sometimes wonder where did he/she get that ???.....I will search in Software Manager for it...I will use different words to look for it, or preferably something that does the same thing.
Having done that, most of the time I will then uninstall it. I have only done it to experiment....just something to do. Occasionally I find something of use, in which case it stays installed.
There is no rule book....no recipe
Make the system suit YOU. It is Linux, it is free, it is about having Choices.
SO, find an approach that suits you. That makes you feel safe.
There is no AV necessary for Linux. That may change in the future. Then again that has been said for the last 10 years that i know of, and probably for longer. This people who maintain Linux, work unbelievably HARD to keep it safe.
The most important digital signature/checksum etc....is the one for your OS (operating system) ....In my case, that is Linux Mint 22.1
Read Here:
[
https://linuxmint-installation-guid...n-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/verify.html)
If you already have Linux Mint downloaded, the simplest approach is to right click the .iso file you downloaded and select Verify.
There three areas to check there..: URL's ....Local Files....Checksum
It takes a bit of wrapping your head around.
Where to get help?....wherever suits you.
Linuxmint.com
Linux.org
would be two of the better forums. Linux.org is more friendly.
