this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2026
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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 feel there's a lot of bandwidth with "risky files" anyway. If that's just a select few pirated games, creating two seperate user accounts might do. I did that for a while. Had one regular account for all my files, browsing etc. And another one with Lutris and some pirated games from ye good ol times... If there's some Windows virus included, it can't access any of my files.
If someone does computer security research, or plans to deliberately execute the nastiest malware, ransomware... that's obviously not enough by any means.
But people are in different kinds of situations. So pick what's best for you. And my priorities changed over time. These days I -for example- don't pirate as much software anymore. In case I want some of my Portal2 memories back, I'll just wait for the next Steam sale and buy it for 5 bucks... and for the rest of my software needs I have Linux and the Free Software community. I still keep the separate user accounts for random games and work and personal stuff, though.
just for clarity, you mean system accounts or accounts on a website?
system accounts
or even better, fire up a disposable VM
Yes, operating system accounts. And a good follow-up step is to check whether that account is really unable to read the files from other accounts. Sometimes Linux distributions come with weird default settings, I think Debian allows read access to files per default. I'm not 100% sure.
Virtual machines are way better at isolating stuff. Downside might be some extra effort to set them up, and maybe some fiddling with the graphics card.