Is Linux Mint as secure as it could be?

[skjones007]

This is a legitimate question, please don't take offense. Just trying to understand why some say Linux Mint is not as secure as it could be. One developer told me Linux Mint uses out of date tool kits. I'm not smart enough to know if this is factual or not. So, in your opinion, is Linux Mint as secure as any other distribution?

[Pierre]

it is true that LinuxMint is not as up-to-date as it could be.
& that's because it's designers want stability & usability,
not cutting edge programs.

if you, or anyone else, does want an Linux System, that is always up-to-date,
and has cutting edge programs, then there is indeed Linux Systems, that will do that.

but, this stability over progress, does not make the LinuxMint system any less secure.

[syg00]

Ask the same question about your house.
If it was as secure as it could be, you wouldn't be able to live in it. We all make compromises, but there are steps you can take to mitigate risk.

[k-314]

Remember the saying "Would not do online banking on LM ...".

Was on PCLinuxOS at that time, a rolling release.

[catweazel]

Remember the saying "Would not do online banking on LM ...".

I don't recall that saying. You must've made it up. I have no issues banking online using Mint.

[killer de bug]

Linux Mint is really secure and for sure as secure as Ubuntu. They use the same repositories and therefore you have the same versions for all the software inside the repo.
This "Linux Mint is not secure" statement is FUD and was answered several times in the last years. Maybe you can start here: http://segfault.linuxmint.com/2013/11/a ... configure/

[revian]

This is a legitimate question, please don't take offense. Just trying to understand why some say Linux Mint is not as secure as it could be. One developer told me Linux Mint uses out of date tool kits. I'm not smart enough to know if this is factual or not. So, in your opinion, is Linux Mint as secure as any other distribution?

So, an Ubuntu developer told you that a competing product was less secure than his product. And you don't see anything wrong with that particular practice?

[k-314]

Remember the saying "Would not do online banking on LM ...".

You must've made it up.

Any problems with my posts?

https://www.golem.de/news/sicherheit-mi ... 02830.html

[sphyrth]

When it comes to Updates, Stability and Security are sometimes inversely proportional. Meaning, here's how the basic reasoning goes...
1. Updating leads to better security, but it can break your system.
2. Not updating can prevent your system from breaking, but you're not as secure.
3. Mint wants to strike the balance, but leans more towards stability.
4. Based on Statements 1 & 3, Mint is not as secure as it could be.

Like it said, that's only the basic line of reasoning. It's not a universal view. But when they say Mint is not as secure as it could be, they just mean Mint tends to lay back on the updates.

[Faust]

Every time I hear this gibberish I give my stock reply :-

" Paint me a picture of how a malicious attacker compromises a GNU/LInux system "
Describe the attack surface , and the imagined threat vector -

How would the malware give itself root privileges ?
....assuming the user is not so foolish as to habitually run Linux as root .
Now compare with Windows , where many users feel some deep compulsion to run as admin by default ,
rather than use the inherent protection of UAC .

There is some kind of psychological factor at work here ..... the Dunning-Kruger effect ?
Example : a survey by a motoring organization found that ~80% of drivers rated their driving skills
as " better than average " .... a self-evidently meaningless result !

There is also the added factor that malware creators want to target as many systems as possible , globally .
So their priorities , based on OS popularity , would naturally be MS followed by Apple , then Linux last .

I'm happy to do online banking with Linux ( but I run it from a Live USB when traveling , as an extra precaution ) .

[Moem]

I'm not sure that Is Linux Mint as secure as it could be? is the right question to ask. In my view, the more relevant question is: Is Linux Mint as secure as I want/need it to be?
And my personal answer, based on (mostly other people's) experience, is certainly Yes it is.

I've been happily using Windows for 20 years and never ran into trouble even with that; since Mint is a lot safer than Windows, I feel plenty safe using it.

[Pjotr]

Any problems with my posts?

https://www.golem.de/news/sicherheit-mi ... 02830.html

Na klar.

You're bringing up something from more than three years ago, which was even incorrect at that time. Since then, Update Manager has been reworked extensively. In no way it can be compared to the Update Manager of 2014.

Among other things, these reworkings of Update Manager have had the expressly stated purpose of preventing even the flimsiest pretext for incorrect criticisms like that.

Klare Sache und damit hopp.

As to the question of the OP: I would like to add to the fine answers that you've already received, the assurance that I also regard Linux Mint as very secure. You might find this article interesting, that I've written about security in Linux Mint:
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... t/security

[k-314]

Na klar.

...but there is a slight difference between "make something up" and "bring something up".

Besides, that sentence stuck to my mind, but you see me here now

br KH

[Pjotr]

Na klar.

...but there is a slight difference between "make something up" and "bring something up".

Ebenfalls klar. Es lebe der kleine Unterschied.

("Long live the small difference").

[MintBean]

What's the name of this developer with whom you're talking?

[kc1di]

No distro is a secure as it could be that includes the one that Developer works for.
All security is a trade off, minimize the threat balanced by stability of the system.

For best protection unplug the computer from the World Wide web. If you have to use the web. use caution.
Most attackers take advantage of human error. Weak passwords etc.
This topic has been beat to death in recent years. As Linux grows in market share more and more un savory chaps are likely to to pay more attention to it's weak points. fortunately most real security threats are found out rather quickly and patched the soon after discovery.

I won't loose any sleep over this in mint. But do take prudent step to be as secure as possible.

[Hoser Rob]

Remember the saying "Would not do online banking on LM ...".

I don't recall that saying. You must've made it up. I have no issues banking online using Mint.

I agree. This board is becoming troll city.

[Moem]

Remember the saying "Would not do online banking on LM ...".

I've never heard of that saying. Someone may very well have said that once, but people say so many things. That doesn't make it a 'saying' and it certainly doesn't make it true.

[MintBean]

Remember the saying "Would not do online banking on LM ..."

I don't. Links please or you made it up.

[Portreve]

Remember the saying "Would not do online banking on LM ...".

I've never heard of that saying. Someone may very well have said that once, but people say so many things. That doesn't make it a 'saying' and it certainly doesn't make it true.

Remember the saying, “k-314 owes Moem and Portreve a million bucks each”?

I seem to remember hearing that around here somewhere...