Or that vulnerability that was just posted in LibreOffice, to allow an attacker to gain a root shell. Therefore, even the administrator logs in with mere user permissions.Īpplications are meant to be run with non-administrative user permissions (or as mere mortals), so you have to elevate their privileges to modify the underlying system.įor example, you wouldn't want that recent crash of VLC to wipe out your entire /usr directory due to a bug. A root desktop would defeat the security model that's been in place for Ubuntu and Mint since their inception. deb file, that was available for download on the much visited website of .īe restrictive with root authority (administrative permissions)Ģ. Some years ago, malware (a trojan) was detected in a. This happens in the real world: I know of at least one incident. They may even contain malware, like spyware and such. deb file, don't install it! These files are unchecked, unverified and mayĭo damage to your system. When you double-click them, they ask for your password and then they install themselves in your system. You can download debs from some websites. deb files from external sources:įiles with the extension. So the best way to get a clean system again, is to do a fresh clean re-installation of Linux Mint.įor the same reasons you also need to be careful with.

Have you already enabled PPA's or other third-party repo's and do you want to get rid of them? You can of course recreate a clean software sources list like this, but that won't remove the software that you've installed from those non-official sources. But used carelessly, they're for Linux what the bubonic plague was for the Middle Ages. If used wisely and very restrictively, PPA's can occasionally be of great help. PPA's are a mixed blessing, to say the least. Don't install anything from it! Your system will run a huge risk of becoming unstable or even unusable. One destructive PPA deserves to be mentioned in particular: the Oibaf PPA, which contains graphic drivers and graphical rendering software (notably, but not exclusively, for AMD graphics). Or when you're a tester for a particular piece of software (which you should only be doing on a non-essential test computer). Therefore only use a PPA when you really (really!) have no acceptable alternative. By adding a PPA to your sources list, you give the owner of that PPA in principle full power over your system! It might even contain malware.įurthermore, you make yourself dependent on the owner of the external repository, often only one person, who isn't being checked at all. Therefore it may damage the stability, the reliability and even the security of your system. deb installers, is untested and unverified. Software from third-party repositories (like PPA's) and external. Don't experiment on a production machineīe very careful with external repositories (like PPA's) and with external. Never remove any application that's part of the default installation of Ubuntu or Linux Mint Don't enable the software repository 'romeo' UKUU, Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer and mainline kernel PPA's Elevated danger level (yellow alert): Ubuntuzilla, UKUU and Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer High danger level (orange alert): Ubuntu Sources List Generator Severe danger level (red alert!): Ultamatix Never use installation scripts like Ultamatix, Ubuntu Sources List Generator, Ubuntuzilla, UKUU and Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer Don't install a second full-blown file manager Never use cleaning applications like BleachBit (nor defrag apps) Desklets and applets: think before you install

Firefox and Chrome add-ons and extensions: don't trust them blindly Be careful with add-ons, extensions, applets and desklets Only use sudo, pkexec and admin:// when absolutely necessary Be restrictive with root authority (administrative permissions) Be very careful with external repositories (like PPA's) and with external.

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