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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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I have a question about flatpak (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

32 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I see that it can be slower because of having all the dependencies included with the flatpak itself instead of relying solely on whats installed on the system. I read that this means it isolates or sandboxes itself from the rest of the system.

Does this not mean that it can't infect the rest of the system even if it had malware?

I have seen people say that it isnt good for security because sometimes they force you to use a specific version of certain dependencies that often times are outdated but I'm wondering why that would matter if it was truly sandboxed and isolated.

Do they mean that installing flatpak itself is a security risk or that also specific flatpaks can be security risks themselves?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Well the sandboxing does help with trustworthy browsers so the websites can't have excessive permissions. But relying on such a broken system isn't a very good idea imo.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Sandboxing in the browser is different than the sandboxing done by flatpak.

You really want your browser sandbox to be rock solid as any weakness allows for drive by attacks by websites.

Flatpak uses bubblewrap under the hood so it is just as secure. Flatpak also has a security tracker and when security issues are found they are taken very seriously.