this post was submitted on 28 Mar 2024
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Linux

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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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[–] [email protected] 57 points 10 months ago (4 children)

It does help prevent actual malware from being downloaded, though, since upstream developers probably won't publish malware on Flathub.

But this is still a half-measure. I don't understand why Red Hat and Canonical don't treat this issue seriously; people on Linux are used to assuming software installed from the repos are safe, and yet Snap and Flatpak are being pushed more and more despite their main repositories being potentially unsafe.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago

Flathub is doing more and more, but stuff like hiding --subset=verified is very bad.

They simply need to gain critical mass until they can force changes like portals etc.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If you create malware and publish it on flathub, you are the upstream dev. But for sure it helps against duplicate scams.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I can't find it now, but I read that the verification process also includes human review (for the initial verification, not every update), so it should actually prevent "verified" malware (though it does nothing against unverified malware).

Edit: Here's an article with this and more info: https://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/966187/3ef48792e5e8c71d/

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Nice!

Add flathub with --subset=verified and get apps you really need from their .flatpakref files

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Fedora has their own flatpak repo built from their own rpms and their own runtime. Flathub has more flatpaks though.

[–] bhamlin 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Because both Red Hat and Canonical are of the "pay us to care" mindset. If you aren't paying for support, you're a freeloader and need to do your own research.

[–] TheGrandNagus 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I mean, that's pretty much all open source software and isn't specific at all to RH/Canonical.

What's provided to you is provided without warranty and you're not automatically entitled to support, etc.

[–] bhamlin 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That's not entirely true with Red Hat. There's a lot of work that they've done in the open source community that they haven't shared back. And canonical seems to think this is a good idea.

[–] TheGrandNagus 1 points 10 months ago

I'm not really sure what you mean by that. What do you mean they've done a lot of work for the open source community that they haven't shared back?

And what does it have to do with providing software support free of charge?