I have decided to go with CachyOS based on Arch Linux. The PC I have is an all AMD system CPU and GPU.
I am moving from Windows 11 to Linux.
Here’s a list of questions I’d really appreciate you answering. If you could can you please list them out as well? That way, we can keep everything organized.
1.) How do I set up Fingerprinting on Linux? The device I own is: “Kensington VeriMark Gen1 USB-A Fingerprint Key Reader - Windows Hello, Anti-Spoofing (K67977WW)“
2.) For gaming what improvements would you download to your CachyOS system.
3.) Security, and privacy enhancements. What would you install or change to improve the security, and privacy of the system?
4.) Should I enable secure boot? The motherboard I have is: “ASUS Prime B450M-A II AMD AM4 (Ryzen 5000, 3rd/2nd/1st Gen Ryzen Micro ATX Motherboard (128GB DDR4, 4400 O.C.), NVMe, HDMI 2.0b/DVI/D-Sub, USB 3.2 2, BIOS Flashback, and Aura Sync)”
5.) I want to start learning to code what software would you install.
6.) I am a graphic designer. What software would you install? I am looking at Affinity software, but I don’t know if that is supported on Linux.
You can just probably use the Archlinux instructions for that. Note none of us recommend obscure distributions due to supply chain risks. I doubt that distribution is really noticeably faster than anything else for desktop workloads. I think that’s mostly marketing.
It looks like this device is for Windows login, so it’s probably not going to be compatible. I checked the website and I don’t see any support for Linux. It’s “FIDO U2F Certified”, so you should be able to use it to log-in to your accounts with 2FA set-up, if not your desktop.
Without knowing what you’re trying to improve, all of the games I’m currently playing on Steam works ootb. When it doesn’t, I change the Proton version. Downloading and installing games outside of Steam can be tricky (Star Wars Battlefront 2 for example). If you play CPU heavy games, maybe you can look into “gamemode”, but I haven’t tried this myself.
When installing Linux, I (almost) always set-up LUKS. I also use VeraCrypt to encrypt my most sensitive data. Additionally, I use virtual machines to set-up always log-in or use web browsers with multiple extensions.
Yes, but I would turn it off if the installation fails, then turn it back on after successful installation. Major distros should work with it on, but I believe CachyOS is quite new. OR check the Arch Wiki like @dngray said.
I don’t know how to code, you’ll have to figure that one out yourself.
Not a graphic designer either, but creatives generally favor Mac. Unlike Adobe, Affinity can work on Linux, but not natively. You’ll need to use Wine. If you’re unsure about switching to Linux due to compatibility issues, I suggest you install Linux on a separate SSD.
Not me being a CachyOS user but yes there is a real threat of supply chain attacks. I don’t think it’s a major dealbreaker though.
At the end of the day, I’m only using it because its kernel has better support for my Asus laptop. Since most of the recommended workarounds for my device involves using the CachyOS kernel on Fedora or Arch anyways, I figured that I would much rather install the OS itself. Otherwise, I may risk not being able to use Secure Boot because of the custom kernel.
Anyways, you should always enable Secure Boot. It works pretty much flawlessly as long as you follow the official Arch Wiki and CachyOS documentation. I haven’t experienced any problems enabling it.
To be honest, it’s going to be difficult using Arch-based distros as your first operating system from Windows 11. Yes, CachyOS has incredible performance and support for new devices, but it requires quite a lot of manual configuration. Most of the security improvements you can configure on Linux involves application sandboxing. By nature, Fedora Atomic distributions/custom images like Silverblue, Bazzite, or Secureblue may work better for your workflow because they rely on Flatpaks for applications and are harder to break.
Since you are a gamer, you have the option of either making Bazzite more secure or SecureBlue better for gaming. I haven’t tried gaming on SecureBlue when I installed it, so i can’t give any pointers here.
You can also chose to implement application sandboxing on CachyOS, but that entails looking through the Arch Wiki for a solution like Bubblejail. It’s quite straightforward if you know what you’re doing. I’m assuming that you may get intimidated, so you should consider a Fedora Atomic distribution instead.
but yes there is a real threat of supply chain attacks. I don’t think it’s a major dealbreaker though.