#1 was true more in the late 90s to early 00s. The operating system has matured quite a bit since then.

I love Debian, but I hear a lot of people suggesting Linux Mint for new users. If you’re afraid of committing to a change, grab a cheap used system to try it out. Just know that if you have better hardware, itbwill really shine.

As you can search the answer anywhere most games that don’t have kernel level anti cheat work.

Most programs can be run but not all.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

This is known as a package manager. The package manager (along with some default settings and preinstalled packages) is what makes each Linux distro different. For instance, Debian uses apt, Arch uses pacman, Gentoo uses emerge.

Each package manager uses a different way to upgrade software. For instance apt update refreshes the global list of available software and versions and apt upgrade finds differences between that list and what you have installed, and upgrades as needed.

There also snaps and flatpacks, but I don’t support the use of those.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Yes and no. Open source allows attackers to find vulnerability in code, but also means more eyes are on that same code and able to fix those vulnerabilities.

Although permissions can largely be ignored on Windows, its critical to Linux. Its a little much to explain here, but a standard install is fairly secure because of permissions. The important thing to remember is to harden the root account (no remote login) and be very careful what you execute with the sudo command.

Many people [incorrectly] don’t use AV because historically Linux hasn’t been much of a target due to low adoption. The trifecta of software I use are ufw as a system-level firewall, fail2ban to block an attacker who tries to bruteforce entry and repeatedly fails, and ClamAV for AV.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Yup

And also, what distro might be best for me?

I think Mint is currently the recommended distro for new users. It used to be Ubuntu, but canonical has been doing some very anti-community things lately.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Yes, there are way fewer games than on Windows, but support has been growing in the last few years

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

If the tools you use are available for Linux, then no problem

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

You can use WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) to run some Windows apps. You can check compatibility here: https://appdb.winehq.org/

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

.NET (Core and newer versions) is fully supported on Linux. Other Windows-specific libraries might be a problem unless they work through Wine

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

Yes, most desktop environments have a graphical interface for settings and updates

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

It’s actually the opposite. Since the code is open, more people are checking for vulnerabilities, making it more secure than proprietary systems. In general, Linux users don’t need antivirus, as most malware targets Windows or macOS, and Linux malware usually needs privilege escalation

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

That’s debatable. Everyone has different experiences depending on their hardware and distro

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Nope

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Since you have a gamer profile, I’d suggest Pop!_OS (https://system76.com/pop/). It’s based on Ubuntu and has good support for gaming and creative work

Your questions will have different answers depending on which flavour of Linux you choose.

A good chunk of windows programs can be run using a program called “WINE”. WINE is just a command line program but you can get a GUI version easily.

Updates depend on your flavour but Debian based Linux (like Ubuntu) you just type “sudo apt get update” and then “sudo apt get upgrade” and bam everything is updated. No restart required.

If a program doesn’t work in Linux there can be workarounds or alternatives but that really depends on what program you are talking about.

You can play almost every game that exists on steam on Linux with the exception of games that have kernel level anti cheat like some competitive multiplayer games.

You’re arguably safer security-wise on Linux. Most people are on windows so that’s the majority of all viruses. Your security updates are included in system updates. No antivirus required.

I have never heard of Linux damaging hardware. I don’t think you need to worry about this.

Recommendation: get Bazzite. It’s a special type of Linux that is closest to a windows experience than anything else. It won’t let you do dumb things and mess up your install. It has all NVIDIA drivers preinstalled as well as gamepad drivers and everything you’d need for gaming (including dock support). It’s a no configuration needed OS. Linux on easy mode. You don’t even need to use the command line ever. Updates and apps are installed through the Linux equivalent of the Microsoft App Store (except this time it is great and doesn’t suck). And I say this as someone who only used windows until 15 years ago I messed around with Ubuntu and other Debian based Linux distributions.

A lot of great questions. I think many details are already out there but I’ll try to answer some to my best ability.

Answering the easier questions: Most games work check protondb.com for your specific games. There is a “Linux update” button on some popular mainstream linux distros - and it will never force you! Its also possible to update without rebooting for most updates (how great right?) No antivirus needed and it’s more secure (but of course not invulnerable!)

Some of the other questions have a “It depends…up until a point” answers.

There are work arounds for non Linux programs…except for specific examples like some games. Valorant for example.

I’m not a modder or .NET expert but there’s something called Wine which should help with that …so answer is probably Yes-with caveats.

I’d recommend thinking about what are you “must work” deal breakers for work/hobbies (more specific than these more general questions) and considering if linux is for you. The distros that might work for you are Pop OS! and Linux Mint.

The neat thing is you can try these for free and hop around. I dual booted windows and Linux for a while before making the full time switch.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Not significantly as long as you are on the right distro for it.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

no. mod managers can work but its definitely not as easy. If you use steam workshop it works great usually, but something like vortex is gonna be a pain in the ass.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

You can run windows programs with wine. It’s not that difficult to do. Its how games work on Linux that dont have linux support.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Usually you can get it to work. I have run across some specific programs for my job that simply wont work with wine, but they barely work on windows as it is. It may need fiddling with tho.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

Sometimes. It depends on the distro. Mint has an updater where you click update and ur done basically. Others you go in and do a terminal command which changes by package manager. For like OS version jumps if your not on a rolling release distro then it can be a bit of a bigger job. I recently updated my computer from Debian Bookworm to Debian Trixie. I went into the sources replaced bookworm with trixie, and ran the full upgrade command. Then rebooted and had to ctl alt f4 into terminal nuke gnome and reinstall that. Which is expected in that case. It can be a bit techy at times for something like that but for a normal update on a distro with a GUI updater its a button click. Usually no reboot needed either.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Dont download shit you shouldnt download. If your not sure if something has a virus or not you can get tools to scan for them, but windows is similar in that your main protection is just not doing something dumb. You can keep regular backups and if somehow you mess something up or get a virus just restore from it. PikaBackup works well.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

AMD is flawless usually. Nvidia i dont use but hear it can be more of a hassle. With AMD the drivers will come preinstalled with your distro usually. Some do Nvidia too some dont. There is an open source and proprietary nvidia driver you have to pick which one you want. Id research it for your specific card.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

No more than windows can. If you try to overclock without proper cooling or something for example. Thats BIOS stuff usually tho not an OS thing.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Maybe Nobara since you like gaming? Or Linux Mint its beginner friendly.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Not greatly. The games that have anti-cheat won’t work on Linux. Anti-cheat is a security problem anyway (because they circumvent the kernel policies) and so linux will never support these.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

for the ones that work yes. There’s a list of how well games work on linux, there’s a website for that.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

For some “difficult” non-anti-cheat games there are some workarounds. If we’re talking about apps and not games, then it’s best to use the Linux equivalents, and forget the Windows ones.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

While there’s WINE and .NET for Linux, Windows apps don’t really work well. They usually break on new wine versions, or they don’t work at all. For apps, use Linux native apps. Games generally work better than apps because they don’t use too many of the Windows APIs (they’re mostly 3D stuff, and not app apis).

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

It depends on the distro. Some distros have graphical front ends, some you have to use the terminal to update the OS.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

There’s ClamAV, and also you should be turning the firewall On (some distros come with it, others you have to install it manually). Don’t downloads random binary packages, only from the distro itself, or official packages.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Overall, yeah… but it does depend on the version of the driver, distro you’re using, hardware etc. I use Intel graphics cards (dedicated) because I find their drivers to be more mature than nvidia’s, for example.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Very unlikely, near zero.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Everyone is recommended to start with Linux Mint, because it’s the distro with the most GUI front-end tools to do stuff. Yes, there are some distros that are more game-oriented, but they expect the user to know what they’re doing. Start with Mint.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

So this one I thought I’d answer because I’ve done development in both NET framework and NET core and how it works is different for each (although things will usually work one way or another).

For .NET framework applications, if the program is compiled for windows (the .exe) you can usually run it with mono (you generally don’t need wine, but there’s some caveats that mean sometimes you should use wine). This will include programs with GUIs. If the NET framework app calls other windows programs it is best to run it via wine, you will need to install the net framework within wine, but there’s a winetricks command for that. There are a few things that are generally niche things that do not work in linux net framework’s mono though. By niche the one I can think of, is serial port events. Very annoyingly they all exist, so the program will run but the events will never trigger an action in the programs. Very annoying, but luckily very rare/niche stuff.

For .NET core, you can build directly to linux targets, and if the project you are working on does target NET core, then you can run the binary natively (note: you usually cannot build applications using forms to linux native binaries, for these you should run the windows exe with wine). You can also run the .exe files for this with wine and I’ve rarely had a problem with it.

Note that if you develop .NET applications, you won’t be able to build anything that uses the standard forms GUI under linux. There are other UI frameworks out there you can use that are multi platform. For this reason, for the projects that do use windows forms, I have a VM with windows on that I boot up for this reason.

In short, if you’re just running windows binaries, you will be generally fine with mono for framework and wine for core. For development “it’s complicated”.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Many games with draconian anti cheat don’t work. You can check that on https://areweanticheatyet.com/ and https://www.protondb.com/.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Do you mean creating or applying mods? Some of the tools might not run out of the box. But for most mods you actually just have to place the files in the correct folder.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Wine is the program used to run Windows software. It is used by Steam together with some other tools under the name Proton or Steam Play. It is best to use Wine with a helper frontend like Bottles. That creates an encapsulated Windows environment for every program and helps you in keeping potentially conflicting workarounds separate from each other.

But you can also run Wine standalone. Then every program will be installed to the same fake-Windows environment.

Missing libraries like .Net or the Visual C++ Runtime are actually the most common pitfall when trying to run Windows software on Linux. Bottles, Steam and other helpers will aid in their installation.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

Every distribution has an application repository that also contains the system files. In general you update everything at once through one interface.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Open source makes it more safe. You have more eyes on the software. And something that is only safe because nobody knows how it works isn’t really safe.

Antivirus software’s is not necessary. Neither is it necessary on Windows. It makes a system less secure because it opens up more possibilities of something going wrong. There have been enough cases of anti virus software with security issues on Windows. Or even anti virus software attacking important system files directly.

That said, if you still want to install a virus scanner there is ClamAV.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux

AMD and Intel greatly, because they are open source. They are integrated and don’t need any configuration or installation.

Nvidia is worse. You have to install them yourself and sometimes they are unstable. But it’s not worse than on Windows.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Only if you really try and even then it’s probably impossible. Hardware nowadays has many safeguards.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

If you have friends or family already using Linux you should install what they use.

I like OpenSUSE Tumbleweed.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

It will be somewhat affected, but most games can be played via wine/proton.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Depends on the game and mods? Some games like Minecraft can run and be modded natively in Linux.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Again, there is wine/proton for that.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

If I remember correctly, you can install .NET, DirectX and so on in wine.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

You are going to love updates coming from Windows. Basically you run your package manager update command and everything is taken care of.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

I’m no security expert, but the consensus is that it’s more secure. I’ll leave it to more competent people to explain.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Depends. NVIDIA used to be annoying to manage.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

About this, I have no idea.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

I have seen Linux Mint often suggested to new users, but picking a distro is a topic that deserves a whole new post.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

No. Thanks to Steam Deck, most popular windows games also work on Linux. See https://www.protondb.com/ for a complete list of 18,000 titles… Someone already mentioned that kernel level anti-cheat is the big, obvious blocker.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Im guessing that most moders target Windows users therefore, don’t think mods would be AS easy. Not saying modding wouldn’t exist or work at all.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

There are workarounds. Linux has some great alternative software to popular paid stuff. See LibreOffice or Krita.

There are also more advanced options to run Windows apps under Linux, see Wine or Virtual Machines

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Yes. Similar to the above answer/ similar to aforementioned Proton. For .NET specifically, there is a Linux runtime.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

This can depend a lot on what distribution you’re running, but definitely, there are ones with easy buttons for whole-system updates.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

It’s different and probably overall better than windows. Most distros are much better out of the box than windows.

Open source is ususually a security advantage because (long story short) security mistakes can be caught by more people.

I don’t have a good answer for you on anti virus. I am very privacy and security conscious and I dont use one on linux. My personal opinion is that you don’t need one and shouldn’t need one if you’re not downloading sketch stuff.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Totally. GPU drivers are much, much better than they used to be.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Theoretically. You would have to try really hard, but for normal use, no. More likely, you could lose data or access to the system if you misconfigure stuff (just like with Windows)

Distro recommendations. My personal opinions, don’t flame me.

• Bazzite. hard to mess up, gamer focused, super simple updates, and targeted support for gamer hardware. Feels like a cross between steam deck and windows. Less support for tinkering but if you never want to touch the terminal, this is my choice.

• Pop!OS. Simplified Linux with great driver and steam support with easy updates. More tinkering support than Bazzite

• Linux Mint. Easy to start on but more traditional back-end. Much more support (forum posts) than the previous two. A lot of what works on Debian or Ubuntu works the same on Mint, so you’ll be able to do all kinds of fiddling

Without trying to be exhaustive:

But all I know about Linux is 1: it’s a cantankerous beast that can smell your fear and lack of computer skills and 2: that’s apparently not true any more?

Exactly.

I’m pretty much a fairly casual PC-user, I don’t do much more than play games.

Noted.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Your queries on which specific games work and don’t work should be answered between the databases of ProtonDB, WineHQ, Lutris and Are We Anti-Cheat Yet?. Note, however, that these are not necessarily exhaustive (even if put together); e.g. after visiting the aforementioned websites, you might think that Roblox can’t be played on Linux. But it’s simply one of the many games that exist in the compatibility blind spots between these databases; as the excellent Sober isn’t accounted for.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

There will definitely be a learning curve to be had. Though, AFAIK, there’s nothing that outright prevents you beyond an initial (and potential) knowledge gap.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Wine is your best friend in these cases. Or, an alternative. Note that -again- compatibility blind spots in these databases continue to exist; like this significant one.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Again, Wine comes to the rescue.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

This depends entirely on the so-called Linux distribution you end up installing. Some opt to do updates automatically (perhaps in the background even), while others simply prompt the user whenever updates are available. Yet others expect the user to do them manually. What are your preferences in this regard?

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

This is somewhat of a controversial topic thanks to articles like this one. Note that while the article continues to be shared and thus remains ‘popular’, the fact of the matter is that at least some parts of it have become outdated since. Refer to this (more recent) article as an addendum. The gist would be that Linux might be secure enough for your intents and purposes. But this depends entirely on what you intend to use it for. Downloading and executing random files from the dark web is probs a bit much and not something any OS would appreciate. But playing your games through Steam and surfing the internet should be fine unless you’re somehow targeted by a resourceful adversary. If you didn’t worry too much about this on Windows and thus went with the default settings -so no hardening whatsoever-, then popular distros like Fedora should be more than fine for your use case. However, if you require more than that, then you may find solace in the fact that projects like Kicksecure and secureblue do exist. (There’s also Qubes OS, but I’ll assume that’s too hardcore.)

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

In most cases, yeah. Historically, Nvidia used to be a pita. And, frankly, continues to be for some peeps. But it has improved significantly over the last couple of years.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Any bad software (irrespective of platform) can potentially damage hardware. Linux is no different in this regard. Though you shouldn’t have to worry about this unless you intend do some janky stuff.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

As gaming seems high on your list, consider Bazzite.

I’m pretty much the same as you. A lifelong Windows user who got fed up with the direction windows is going. I just recently switched to Linux for my new gaming PC and I haven’t had any major issues. The only thing I still haven’t figured out how to do yet is modding.

As for which distro to use, I would recommend something that comes with the graphics drivers already installed to reduce any initial setup difficulty.

I use Bazzite on my machine. It’s a Linux gaming distro which comes with all the stuff you’ll need to get right into gaming. It’s an immutable distro so it’s pretty difficult to really mess it up but it also makes things a bit more difficult to install anything that isn’t a flatpak.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Most if not all single player games will work without an issue on steam thanks to its integration with proton, if you use something else you can use lutris to fill in the gaps there.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

I see no reason why you can’t. Hopefully someone else can elaborate on that as I haven’t done that in forever.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

It can be unusable. There could be workarounds but that would depend on how dirty you want your hands to get. You can install windows on a docker container and use that to fill in the blanks if needed. There would also be some linux alternatives of some apps which would be worth investigating and learning.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

I think dot net has been open sourced but you can get dot net apps using Mono.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

You use the package manager, which varies based on linux distro/flavor. It’s your best friend and you’ll get 90% of your apps that way too. Upgrading depends on whether you are using a stable distro which is like say windows 7 and you’ll have to upgrade to windows 8 (omg lol) you’ll have to follow the procedure of your distro, It’s usually well documented and should be fairly easy if your sticking to the flavor of Linux you’re using. If you’re using a rolling distro/flavor then you’ll just keep your packages up to date regularly via the package manager. Be warned sometimes you’ll have 300+ packages to upgrade so if internet is spotty may not be your thing. But it’s a great way to ensure you’re getting the most out of your new exotic hardware.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Use clamav, make it watch the home directory /home as that’s where you as the user have the privilege to write data to. Never run as root unless you’re going to be extra careful. Also don’t run scripts you don’t understand or aren’t well maintained in a public repo (at that point you as a newbie would be relying on community to determine if something is good or bad think of it as the upvote and downvote system but with more transparency)

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Yes, even the nvidia drivers are reliable. Just a pain as you’ll have to reinstall the kernel module, the component that integrates the driver into your new kernel, after you upgrade kernel versions. Kernel is the thing that does all the low level handling of your devices.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Most hardwares/processors now are designed with failsafes to throttle when there’s not enough cooling. Please elaborate a little on this. You can break software but I think hardware should not be. Hopefully someone can elaborate as well.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Linux mint, it is well documented, doesn’t have the snaps that Ubuntu is pushing, its user friendly. Similarly fedora. You can try one of those immutable distros which may give you a more stable experience as it rolls back to a stable state on an update failure.