The ubuntu is 100% safe promise

[zombifier25]

Agree. The single most successful method of infiltration does not rely on security holes, but on asking very nicely: Social engineering.

I'm sure most of us are familiar with the story of a Wired writer who had his ENTIRE digital life destroyed (e.g., his Google account hacked, all of his Apple devices remotely wiped, his Twiter account defaced, etc etc) thanks to social engineering, but in case you aren't, then you should read it, because holy crap.

[Merisi]

I found this thread when searching about security and read it entirely and I must say even though it may seem negligent, I think it's great for someone to have said what the OP has said. In the year or so since I joined this forum I have noticed an air of anxiety arising that Linux isn't secure and although we can try our best that really it isn't good enough if someone really wants to hack, infect etc your computer.

I appreciate that having a false sense of Linux security isn't helpful and acting like you'll be fine to use torrents and use dodgy websites (like certain Mac users I know...) is going to get you into trouble. I think maybe that we've gone too far into that direction and that we're probably going to be ok as long as we update regulalry use the right web browser add ons. I think for new users being overwhelmed with creating your own AppArmor profiles can be off putting. I tried learning about it and I couldn't make sense of it and I've opted to trust the profile that comes with 12.04 to harden FireFox. I also think it can put people off if they think there is a huge lack of security when relatively there isn't and that Windows users hearing this will feel more comfortable with their AV or tools such as Sandboxie and EMET.

While an education in a good security mindset is important I think to an extent Linux should just be enjoyed. If someone is going to get through my computer despite what I've done then really there's nothing I can do about it and I'm not sure if endlessly worrying about will be helpful. I guess like most users I just have to trust other people to find a solution and hope for the best.

[offgridguy]

Interesting thread.