I’m a newcomer to Linux (only about a year in), but here’s what I’ve got so far:

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

Mine wasn’t at all. Steam has done a lot of work to make this seamless so that more games can be played on the Steam Deck. Check the Proton DB to see what your gamea look like.

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

I have very little experience with this, but probably. Linux users tend to be tinkerers.

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?

Same answer for both: There’s Wine, and a whole bunch of setup scripts that can get even stuff like Adobe Creative Suite working with it. Worst case scenario, there’s VirtualBox for the one or two apps you might need to run Windows for. But I find that the open source options, while they might have a learning curve, tend to be substantially better than either of those options.

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

More or less, but you can pick and choose what updates you want to install and when. Most distros have a package manager that’ll let you update the kernel, the drivers, the middleware, the desktop environment, all your apps, and even the package manager itself on your schedule, from one interface. You can also just ignore it and never update anything, though I wouldn’t recommend that.

How does digital security work on Linux?

Very well. It’s much more locked-down by default, for one thing.

Is it more vulnerable due to being open source?

Quite the opposite. Open source projects are well known for being less vulnerable out of the box; Linux in particular is used by huge companies as a lightweight server OS, so it has a lot of highly-paid people committing security fixes back down to the open source project.

Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Antivirus is a bandaid on Windows, provided because the OS was written with certain naive assumptions that let attackers get access they shouldn’t have. On Linux, those assumptions were not made. No application can be installed without your root password, for instance; downloaded files can’t even be executed without specifically making them executable; and access to edit system files is restricted by a very robust permissions system.

All of that, plus Linux’s much lower market share, also means that no malware authors are really wasting their time trying to write Linux malware. The attack vector just isn’t worth the extra effort.

So no, there’s no integrated antivirus; but for most users in most situations, it’s not needed at all.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Your mileage may vary significantly, but anecdotally it seems like most architectures from AMD and Nvidia have good support.

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

Maybe, but like with Windows, I assume you have to really go out of your way to do so.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

I’ve only used Ubuntu and Mint. Mint has so far been the easiest and most user-friendly of the two. It’s also regularly touted as the best for newcomers.

first quesrion: no unless you play rainbiw six or fortnite all games run with wine or proton tou could take a look at garuda gaming edition 2: Yes you can r2modman has a appimage (universal linux app) and forge has a linux client for minecraft 3: you could use wine or always just spin up a windows vm if you need it and it doesnt work with wine 4: yes it can run .NET using the wine compaitibilty layer 5: updates are distro specific for example on debain ud do sudo apt update && upgrade or on arch its sudo pacman -Syu 6: its actuslly more secure with it being open source because anyonr can check for vulrabiltys and since its so unkown theres little malware affecting desktop users most are targeting servers and theres one av i know called clamtk theres also rkhunter that looks for root kits only 7: linux has a weird reltonship with gpu drivers for nvidia theres nvidia open source that offer worse perfomrance but are open source and nvidia properitary that run better but are prob spyware 8: Linux cant really damage hardware 9: for distros Linux Mint is and like windows Pop os is good for gaming or for a arch linux based exooernce but still easy try garuda gaming it comes with everything you need to game.

In terms of games and programs, it’s best to look for/ask about the specific ones. Things have improved a ton with Steam/Proton, but just make sure there isn’t a deal breaker in there somewhere. Otherwise, there’s great distros out there that are EZPZ for normal everyday computer tasks (web surfing, file browsing, office shit).

.NET is not Windows specific

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

No*, with options like Wine and Proton (and Lutris and Steam), it’s almost a non-existent problem.

*allegedly some games that rely on kernel-level anticheat won’t work no matter what workarounds you use. I haven’t played these games, so I cannot vouch for it. The games I have played that use anti-cheat have worked fine

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

Freely, yes. Easily… depends. E.g. Nexus now has a standalone application that automates installing mods. Setting up this to work with the different games is a bit of learning how Wine works, but it’s not terribly frustrating if you have someone helping you understand.

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

There are always workarounds, but a very small subset are still unusable. The best option is always to find Free Software alternatives, which there are many more available than there are for windows. Even when that’s not an option, there’s always Wine, or virtual machines.

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

See previous answer.

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

Depends on the OS, but most beginner-friendly distros that are also good long-term distros have an update program like Windows. There are other methods of updating if you go for an immutable distro (like Nix or Guix), but those distros entail less transferable knowledge than distros like Debian or Manjaro.

How does digital security work on Linux?

Same as it works on windows: the weakest link is the user, and the changes they make to the system without understanding the security implications. Which is to say, the strongest security you can have is picking a distro like Debian or Fedora, making no changes to system configuration, and staying up to date on all your updates.

Don’t run code you find online without knowing exactly what it’s doing behind the scenes, don’t follow guides you found online without understanding exactly what each step is doing to your computer.

Is it more vulnerable due to being open source?

No. Why would you think it was?

Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Yes-ish. There are security program that work to protect you in the background (e.g. App Armor and SELinux), but there’s no program that actively scans for and detects “malicious activity” like Defender does.

I tend to recommend against these types of active scanning software, as they negatively impact system performance, and they’re really only necessary if you’re running software from random websites or opening random email attachments or plugging in random usb drives or running random commands you found online.

I can get more in-depth on this, because my job involves setting up systems and maintaining their security, but that’s only if you’re interested.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Yes, but most people have better experience with AMD than Nvidia. They both work, AMD is just a little less finnicky.

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

No.

Other people may say otherwise, but that’s because it’s technically possible on all OSes. It just requires so much special knowledge to even unlock the ability to do so, the odds are astronomically against you ever figuring out how to do so, and you will be warned the entire way down.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

I recommend getting Virtualbox or VMware on windows and setting up and messing around with a few distros people mention as virtual machines to see which one works best for you. The nicest thing about FOSS is the utter freedom you have, so exploring always pays off more in the long run than sticking to a step-by-step guide.

I use Debian: it’s easy, it’s secure, it’s reliable, it’s not failed me yet. It’s what distros like Linux Mint and Ubuntu are based on. Fedora is also a great mix of reliable, secure, and easy.

---

I’m happy to get more in-depth on these questions, or really any computing questions you have, I just didn’t want to overload you if you weren’t looking for a thesis. Feel free to ask me to elaborate though.

In terms of games, modded minecraft runs perfectly for me and so does steam with proton. Theres probably more user friendly distributions that have some sorta GUI to update the OS, but on my machine a shell command is the only way. In terms of security, unless you copy-paste a malicious command into the shell or download malicious software from an untrusted source, you’ll be fine. Package managers are probably the best way to download software. Someone probably offers antivirus for Linux somewhere but I don’t use anything like that 🤷‍♂️ . As for what would be the best distro for you, I’ve never used it but I’ve heard Mint Linux is a good place to start.

1: it’s a cantankerous beast that can smell your fear and lack of computer skills

This can either be true, or not true. It depends on which distro you go with, IMO. There are linux distros specifically designed for new user experiences, and then there are “basic” distros which don’t do unnecessary hand-holding for those who are used to the *nix desktop experience.

Making the change has slowly become a more real possibility for me

There has never been a better time to try linux.

I’m pretty much a fairly casual PC-user

If you do light computing, then linux is the best case scenario for you. You won’t be changing much about the OS, so not much can go wrong. I installed linux for my 65 year old mother 12 years ago or so, and it’s never had an issue. So frankly, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

---

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

As with all things when it comes to linux, it depends. Some of my favorite games have anti-cheat which has no linux client, so therefore even if you can get the game to work in theory, it won’t function because no anti-cheat.

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

You would be hard pressed to find something which is windows only these days, but even if you do there are virtualization options like WINE or bottles which simulate a windows environment for the application and force it to run under linux anyways.

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

Sure.

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

Generally, most people use the command line for updating the system itself, but a lot of distributions come with a “Microsoft Store” type application to give you a GUI to update your OS and applications.

How does digital security work on Linux?

Linux works off a multi-user environment which lends security to the OS. You have a root user, which is your super administrative user, and then normal user accounts which can be added as “administrators” which can then run commands and edit files/settings which are reserved for administrative accounts.

Is it more vulnerable due to being open source?

The security is stronger because we know what’s in it. Security through obscurity is generally frowned upon, even by NIST.

Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Generally no, but there still are anti-virus available, like ClamWin.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

My heart says yes, but my fingers won’t let me type it.

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

It’s technically possible, but you would have to meet a laundry list of conditions for that to happen.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

New users seem to really like Mint. But it’s exceptionally easy to test different distributions, even directly under Windows using Hyper-V. Test a few out and see if you like em.

I’m only responding to the lack of computer skills portion of the OP as I’m sure others have already answered points plenty and probably better than I could.

If you’ve used Windows, you have enough basic computer skills to get you started. You’ll learn the Linux by using Linux just like you learned Windows by using Windows. There are plenty of mainstream distros that give you an out of the box working experience that is a great starting ground. It does take research and try things out instead of wanting someone to give you the perfect play book.

I want to add 1 thing…graphics drivers have come a long way. Nvidia is a good example where some diatros come pre loaded to support Nvidia…like popOS. Check your vid card for distro compatibility

And also, what distro might be best for me?

• For gaming and if you just want things to work without being bothered, Nobara. It’s a Fedora base, which is good for gaming because you will have updates more quickly than other distros, but not so quick that you will get bad updates breaking stuff. It’s Fedora but heavily modified for gaming, and has a lot of stuff already set up that you would need to do manually to improve gaming on another distro. It uses KDE as a Desktop Environment which is pretty good and similar-looking to Windows (a task bar on the bottom, a start menu, a system tray, etc) and you can customize it extensively.

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? Antiwhat ? Just kidding.

• You’re not installing softwares by running executables found on random websites, so you at least have less chances of accidentally installing malware that way (not saying that happened to me a lot on Windows… but not saying that it didn’t 😅 ).
• The best known antivirus on linux is clamAV, but it’s command line only. It’s not very complicated to use, but if you want a graphical interface there are several applications that are clamAV frontends (clamAV still does the actual scanning and such, but the application gives you a graphical interface to interact with it)

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

• For Steam games, the Steam app has Proton, which enables you to play Windows games on Linux, and most will work just fine. There will always be a few games that require tinkering, or that won’t work at all, but not many. You can check ProtonDB to see if your games run well with Proton (https://www.protondb.com/ ) and if a game won’t run, you can check it to see if people have posted solutions (sometimes it’s as easy as copy-pasting a command into the game’s launch options, and poof, there goes the DirectX error !
• For GoG games, and also games from other stores (EA, Epic, etc) you can install Lutris which will use Wine to make your non-Linux games work on linux. As will Proton, there will be a few games that won’t cooperate. All in all, I’d say less than 5% of my games don’t work or require tinkering, and I have a lot of them.
• If you play multiplayer online games that use kernel-level anticheats, you might be fucked (though I’d argue that it’s a good thing, because the game not working is much preferable to the security risk posed by kernel-level anticheats…). Some games are still playable without the anti-cheat activated, you just can’t join competitive servers without the anticheat, while other games won’t work at all.

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

Depends on what you play. As a general rule I would say that unless you like competitive multiplayer games you’re probably going to be fine. That being said the vast majority of games don’t support Linux natively so you need to use workarounds. Steam has a workaround built-in, so if most of your gaming is through Steam it should be an almost seamless transition (all you need to do is enable a checkbook in the settings). But like I said, it depends on what you play, I recommend you check out https://www.protondb.com/ and look for the games you play to see how they run on Linux.

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

Same answer as before, if the game runs okay then modding it would also work okay, but if not it might worsen an already bad situation. Also be very careful here, because when you run Windows games on Steam they’re sort of sandboxed, i.e. they’re running isolated from other stuff, so installing mods is not as straightforward as it would be on windows where binaries are installed globally. It’s not a big deal, but just the other day someone was complaining that they installed a launcher needed for a game and the game wasn’t finding it and this was the reason.

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

As a general rune there’s a workaround, it’s called WINE (which is an acronym for WINE Is Not an Emulator) which is an “emulator” for Windows (except it’s not really an Emulator as the name implies). Then there are some apps built on top of that like Proton (which is what Steam has embebed) that include other libraries and fixes to help. It’s not perfect, but unless the program is actively trying to detect it or uses very obscure features on Windows it should work.

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

Yes, you can use WINE like mentioned above to run Windows binaries that use .NET, but also .NET core is available for Linux.

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

Oh boy, this is the big one, this is the Major difference for m Windows to Linux. Linux has a thing called a package manager, ideally everything you install gets installed via that package manager. This means that everything gets updated together. And here’s the thing, we’re not talking OS only stuff, new version of the kernel (Linux)? New version of the drivers? New version of Firefox? New version of Spotify? All gets updated together when you update your system. This is crucial to the way Linux works, since it allows Linux to have only one copy of each library. For example, if you have 5 different programs that use the same library, in Windows you’ll have 5 copies of that same library, because each program needs their own in the specific version, but in Linux since they will all update together it’s easier to have just one library that gets updated together with the programs. This makes maintaining Linux a piece of pie in comparison, just one command or one click of a button and you’re all up to date with everything you have installed.

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?

As a general rule open source programs are more secure than their counterparts. Closed source programs always remind me of Burns going through several security measures, that sort of thing is imposible in open source because if everyone can see all of the security measures, so someone would notice the gaping hole in the back, whereas in closed source only attackers might have found it. Like cyber security experts say: Security by obscurity is not security. As for Antivirus you don’t need to worry, Linux is inherently more secure than Windows, and also has a small enough user base (most of whom are security experts) so the number of virus written for Linux is extremely small. Also because you should install stuff through a package manager it’s very difficult to get someone to download a bad binary since there’s lots of security in the package manager to prevent this sort of thing. In short almost every antivirus program for Linux checks your computer for Windows viruses to avoid being used to store or transmit viruses to Windows computers, so it’s completely pointless in your home machine (it’s used for example in email servers).

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Yes… But actually no. It depends, if you have a relatively modern AMD GPU (as in last 10 years) the answer is a resounding YES, AMD currently has wonderful Linux support and their cards work excellently with drivers being fully open source and integrated into the Linux Kernel. For Nvidia the story is unfortunately not as nice. Essentially there are 2 drivers available, nouveau (open source driver written by the community and purposefully hampered by Nvidia) and nvidia (closed source driver written by Nvidia that has gaping incompatibilities with Linux). Since you game your only option is nvidia, while nouveau is great for several reasons it can’t match the performance of the nvidia driver. For 99% of stuff the nvidia driver should work fine, but I haven’t had good luck with getting Wayland to run on it, which means you’re probably stuck in X11 (I know this doesn’t mean much to you, but in short it means that you’re somewhat limited in your choice for graphical interface and have to use stuff that people are trying to deprecate but can’t because of Nvidia)

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

Technically yes, so can Windows by that matter. But realistically no, unless you’re writing your own kernel drivers you won’t be in any position to cause hardware damage.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

I would probably go with Mint, it’s beginner friendly and I’ve been recommending it for decades. One thing to bear in mind is that in your knowledge level the distro you choose won’t make that big of a difference, try to pick something beginner friendly and you should be fine, no need to overthink this.

PS: some extra notes that you didn’t asked but I think are good to know:

• Any Linux can look like any other, it’s just a matter of installing the right packages
• You should keep your / and /home in separate partitions, this makes it possible for you to reinstall (or even change distros entirely) without losing your files and configuration. This is due to how Linux manages partitions, which in short is not like on Windows where you have a C and D drives but instead any folder can be a different partition or disk.
• You can dual boot, i.e. have 2 OS and choose which one to use every time you turn on your computer.
• You should probably install Linux on a virtual machine first to check it out safely. And do a backup before installing it on your computer just in case you make a mistake.

In regard to question one: it depends. Pretty much everything without a shitty, Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat (my autocorrect corrected to antichrist — for good reason!) will run either by default on steam or with something known as Proton. But you still may run into occasional difficulties.

For example, if you play Counter Strike 2: up until January this year, playing on Linux meant ≈20% less performance (CS2 is unoptimized for Linux and Vulkan unfortunately); this number has changed since the last few updates and since the new Nvidia driver, so I need to re-run the benchmarks. Your going to occasionally experience things like that, where performance isn’t on par. In the case of CS2, the devs love Linux, so they will optimize for it in the future. It’s just going to take a while.

Another example: I had to use Proton on a game that supposedly was native to Linux. Native implementations may sometimes suck; the good news though, is that you can easily use Proton, both inside and outside of steam. Seriously, I freaking love Valve for Proton, it’s a fantastic tool.

This is all to say, that while gaming is absolutely possible nowadays, you will occasionally need add some flag, or familiarize yourself with proton, etc.

The exception, of course, being Kernel antichrists. Goddamn them. I can’t play LoL anymore because of it. Well, I hate Riot so much now anyway, I’m not sure I’d want to anymore.

+1 for Fedora. I recommend Kinoite as it is very similar to windows and very hard to break due to it’s “immutability”.

Bazzite is very similar to Fedora Kinoite but made to be easy for gaming.

The nice thing about distro choice is that you don’t really need to commit to one with them (mostly) being totally free. As long as you back up your files, I’d recommend trying a few until you feel comfortable. If you go with Ubuntu or Linux Mint I think you’ll have the easiest time. I’d tentatively recommend dual-booting to give a new distro a try without fully committing, but that brings its own difficulties and troubleshooting with it. Having a second machine to test with is also great, but it’s not a good option for everyone.

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. Edit: see sp3ctr4l’s reply to this comment. They know more than me

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