ooh thank you, that breakdown at the end was insightful!

There are plenty of reasons why one would use Snaps on Mint… I’ve been using it for like 2 days and so far I got: Blender, Godot, and Signal. Blender has an older version, Godot has a super old version, and Signal isn’t included in Software Manager. Outside of snap I manually downloaded Material Maker.

People keep telling me snaps are not needed and that I should find everything in the official repo and whatnot but that’s just wrong generalized assumptions from what I see, neither of those 3 programs are too niche either. There are plenty of people out there that do things outside of web browsing and file management in their computers, I’m so confused why Linux out of all communities would ignore hobbies with specialized software exist, game dev even

Yeah, I’m not new to Linux, I just couldn’t put in the work to learn how to actually use it safely and efficiently until now, also because it’s gotten much easier than last time I tried many years ago with more software compatibility. I have no intention of switching distros any time soon and there would need to be a massively good reason for me to even consider it. But I’m just curious why would you recommend a newbie to install Gentoo ?

Yeah the problem is that I understood the first time it was explained, no need to keep circling it over without answering the actual question I was asking about… what you quoted from my comment was just me clarifying what I was asking about, not clarifying my (lack of) knowledge about firewalls.

Thank you for the actual answer!

I do have occasional need to download random programs from random websites because of my hobbies and profession, the first case being Material Maker from itch.io - that one is clearly safe with all those reviews and the public git, but it is a random program from the internet nevertheless, and the reason why I was asking about the placing of programs that I download manually.

Yeah but it seems like some people (not you) take it personal geez… Of course a “casual” will mix firewall with anti-virus, like…? I am literally saying I don’t know shit.

Thank you for actually explaining things in a helpful and chill manner without getting so stuck about one word I use wrong while still being an understandable question.

Thank you, I just wish people weren’t so critical about how I word my questions when it’s still clear what the core question is anyway, man it’s like being a casual is not welcome or something x_x

Some people are really welcoming and some others are so… unnecessarily strict? Condescending? Harsh?

I’m aware of the guidelines to follow to not download viruses, I was just asking if there’s another line of defense like Windows Defender, I see now there isn’t, thank you. The only things I download online are things I can’t find in that store, things made by individuals and individually published… like Material Maker for example.

and I’m telling you I didn’t mean just firewall… I wasn’t trying to be accurate or right, I was just asking a broad general question with a term that would get other people understand what it is that I want to know, not that I know exactly what a firewall does or does not do…

You understood what the question was about, did you not? That was my whole goal

which hidden button? O:

Who says I’m not a professional that needs windows for specific tasks? haha

There are many reasons why one would benefit from dual-boot, regardless of being a professional or not. You’re assuming a lot of things by saying “you don’t need dual boot”.

But I appreciate the warning of win updates being capable of breaking my linux partition, I’ll keep it in mind. I don’t intend to keep the dual-boot forever but for now I’ll keep it.

what for?

potato potato, I just meant some software thing to warn me when I have downloaded something sketchy and I should re-think my choices

Windows Defender warns you if a file seems malicious and then you have to accept a window to use it anyway or to keep it, isn’t that also part of what a firewall does? I know it’s silly and one should just do that mentally for every file but it’s nice to have a reminder sometimes for sketchy files. Anyway, I was not asking specifically for that, just asking generally about virus protection and whatnot

ooooh I seee, thank you for explaining that!

also I’m literally saying “casual”. I said I’m a casual user like at least twice in there. Does that strike you like someone that needs to hear that Linux is “not a lifestyle” ? It’s in the title.

omg thank you! that’s exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for!

oh nice, that’s good to know, thanks!

it’s also quite obvious though? Just like the other two. It’s common sense with a condescending tone

oh with the firewall saving me from myself I meant if I download something thinking it’s safe but isn’t

Thank you! :) @Malix@sopuli.xyz

@kylian0087@lemmy.dbzer0.com I’ve got a desktop but I think I ticked on the drive encryption while installing anyway

With “files” you also mean programs, right? The ones that I download and don’t install with the terminal or an app store?

I’m not scared of the terminal myself, I’m scared of accidentally overwriting stuff or downloading something I didn’t intend to because of a typo, etc… I’m careful but there’s only so much one can fight the adhd. Plus I just really prefer visual interfaces

Thank you! :)