Is it safe to use Ubuntu for personal use?

Question

i've seen some videos where Ubuntu has a lot off advantages over windows 10 and I've switched too Ubuntu now. But since I was so used too have an antivirus protection on windows 10. So I ask, before I Start putting personal files on Ubuntu is it safe to do so?

Answer 1

"Putting personal files on Ubuntu" is just as safe as putting them on Windows as far as security is concerned, and has little to do with antivirus or choice of operating system. Your behavior and habits have to be secure first and you have to know what you're dealing with. At the basic level that means don't install software you don't trust or know about, don't open shady attachments in emails, and avoid visiting weird websites. Of course, in the age of networking you have to trust the network to which you're connected. All this has no relation to antivirus nor operating system - these concepts are exactly the same for both Windows and Ubuntu. Additionally, malware developers nowadays target browsers and try to make malware cross-platform. If you are going to be sharing files with Windows users, you may be safe from Windows specific malware, but they are still vulnerable, hence there are antivirus software available on Ubuntu. Note, that there also exists malware for Linux but there's not a lot of it. More common issues are vulnerabilities in particular software that would let an attacker gain admin privilege and you as regular user have not much in way of working around that except keeping your software updated to get newest fixes.

There's more to putting files on Ubuntu. First thing that computer security professionals ask is "what's your threat model?" In other words, who are you ? Are you an average user ? Are you a person of interest to professional hackers ? Are you of interest to law enforcement or government agencies ? Putting files on Ubuntu for average users is fine. For someone of interest to particular groups to whom your files and information may be valuable - well, generally solution there is to encrypt the drive and files - or at very least password-protect files or store them in zipped archives with password.

What about the software ? Are you going to be using software that only works on Windows ? Consider the possibility that such files won't open and there may not be alternative software for Linux/Ubuntu although nowadays.

In short, yes, it's safe to put files on Ubuntu and it's OK to have antivirus installed. These aren't the issues of concern as real security comes from preventing and minimizing possibility of getting malware or intrusion into your system in the first place, rather than having antivirus deal with it when it's already there and may have already done enough damage.