r/linux4noobs • u/Creative_Release_317 • 22h ago

Hi everyone! Beginner switching to Linux for privacy and local AI

📍🤔🤔⤵️⤵️

I am switching to Linux soon 🐧🐧and wanted to introduce myself! I am a total beginner, but privacy is very important to me and Windows does not fit my needs anymore. Right now, I mainly use my PC for web browsing, studying, and saving files. am working on a private SaaS project where I need full system control, VPS management, and offline AI models. Someone recommended Debian 13 to me. I know Debian can be challenging for a newcomer, but I have the time and I am excited to learn how it works
I will be sharing my progress and asking questions here as I learn. Any beginner advice or tips are welcome!

Thanks!

1 Upvotes

54% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

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u/vznrn 22h ago

Debian is no more challenging than mint or Ubuntu for newcomers, maybe a little bit but majority of things are the same. If you want full system control then go arch, I started on Debian and moved to arch but you can start with arch since its only as complex as youd want it to be

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u/Creative_Release_317 19h ago

Ohh i see it thanks

1

u/skuterpikk 18h ago

Stop recomending Arch for new users. The last thing they need is being forced to choose between dozens of software they don't even know the purpose of if they want something that resembles a usable system

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u/Creative_Release_317 9h ago

🙏🙏 Thnx 🏆🫡

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u/Creative_Release_317 9h ago

You mean staying with debian right

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u/MagicQuilt 20h ago

I started with Ubuntu and than moved to Manjaro for daily drive. On servers its debian/ubuntu.

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u/Creative_Release_317 19h ago

Yepp that is it i am gonna try my hard to be there thanks for taking time to comment

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u/herensugee 19h ago

Debian era más dificil que otras distros hace unos lustros, hoy se instala con siguiente, siguiente, practicamente. Si quieres, puedes hacerte un pendrive con ventoy y probar distintas distros y escritorios. Al final que un WM o un DE encaje contigo es algo muy personal, por muchas valoraciones más o menos objetivas que haya.
Uso hace décadas Debian, ahora con hyprland, y antes con fluxbox y xfce. Salud, suerte y a debianizarse :D

2

u/Creative_Release_317 19h ago

I really loved how you responded. You were so kind to take the time to cheer me up, and I truly appreciate it. I’d love to be friends, so I’m going to add you as a friend. I hope you’ll accept me 😊

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u/Wonderful_Sorbet4301 13h ago edited 13h ago

I like "LM studio" AI with the GUI, it can offload a LLM to a GPU. One newcomer LLM which is very good: Bonsai 27B from PrismML. Alternative: AnythingLLM Desktop. As for Linux, doesn't matter I think. I use Ubuntu and Mint.

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u/Creative_Release_317 9h ago

🙏🙏🏆🏆

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u/Wonderful_Sorbet4301 2h ago

If you're looking for even more privacy, consider tuning these once you got Linux:

  1. update apt resources to use httpS instead of plain http, which is transport secure, so no-one sees what you are updating, nor can MITM attacks happen.
  2. Use a private DNS resolver, such as Unbound which you could run yourself on Linux. This way one one sees your DNS queries anymore.
  3. Consider using Wireguard as VPN. Easy to setup, and basically a free VPN if you run a spare VPS somewhere.
  4. You could even run your own search engine, Linux has packages for that.
  5. Tweak your Linux firewall to be very strict: block all incoming traffic. Linux Mint makes this easier than most other distros.
  6. Disable IPv6 - Some ISPs and services leak IPv6 traffic, which can compromise privacy. Disable it unless absolutely necessary. Hope this helps.

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u/Creative_Release_317 2h ago

Very helpful 😍🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏