Thank you, by the way you linked the same app twice. I’m aware of some stress tests on f-droid, I was just looking for someone with experience with them who could recommend some from experience that worked well.

Thank you for your response though.

Excellent, thank you I will check these out.

Have you got a link to a beginners guide for these? I am new to linux and am used to GUI’s from windows. I am having a look around and found a couple of articles, going to look for videos next. But being new to linux and using the terminal more I’d gladly take the advice of someone more experienced such as yourself.

Thank you, I have done this and confirmed I am running on x11. When I have taken the necessary backups / images and timeshift backup I will test it out as from the sounds of it wayland is still in its experimental phase for cinnamon.

Thank you for all your advice though, now I am beginning to understand the picture I see why my next step is to test wayland.

I have kept customisations to a minimum, I shall look into performing what you describe once I have confirmed I have appropriate backups, images and timeshift backups in place. I am nervous of changing anything related to the GUI as I do not want to end up in a situation where I am just booting into a terminal.

Thank you for you help, it has been most illuminating.

I run an AMD GPU as I saw that NVIDIA GPU’s can be a pain due to NVIDIA’s closed approach to linux. I have determined I am running x11 so I will look into methods of trying a wayland session. I am just nervous of switching as I do not want to find myself booting to a terminal instead of a GUI. It is something I will have to research more and make sure I can roll back. I plan to backup and image the system before going down this route.

Question, would timeshift be able to roll back a switch from x11 to wayland in case of an issue? And am I right in thinking I would have to boot from a live usb to perform the appropriate timeshift restore?

Thank you for your help.

I do have a kill switch configuration set with the VPN. I will test it, again thank you for the simplified explanation. It is quite clear in my head now and I will test accordingly.

Very interesting, thank you. So for now, it sounds like using a limited user and / or a vm with GPU passthrough is the most sensible option. Bubblewrap is something I will investigate, thanks. It is sounding like my original idea of setting up a GPU passthrough may be the simplest / best option. Much to consider. Thank you.

Could you please explain a little more on what X11 and wayland are? My current level of understanding is just that I am running the cinnamon desktop environment. How can I find out the information you are looking for? Also, why is it that going into ctrl+alt+f1 and then ctrl+alt+f7 to go back, resolve the issue? Thanks for your reply.

I am new to linux, I chose mint due to its popularity and noted stability. I just wanted an OS that worked for me not against me that was beginner friendly for a user moving from windows 10. I have been on it for a while now, encountered the odd issue (facing a tricky one now) but working through them. I chose popularity because I thought if I encounter issues, I am more likely to find answers. Also, it must be popular for a reason.

Just a new linux user agreeing with what you have to say.

Excellent explanation, thank you very much. Since I am using a VPN configuration on the host computer, am I correct in thinking NAT is the option I want if I want all traffic routed through that? It seems to function that way at the moment (checking IP on speedtest). If I recall, I had it configured that way on virtualbox. I want everything to network wise to be piped through the host first so if in the future I have custom firewall rules etc on the host, those are in place from the sounds of it using NAT correct?

Thanks again.

I am a privacy focused individual. I have researched that command and confirmed sensitive information such as MAC addresses are included. I see that the “z” flag omits this information. Would inxi -Fxxz be acceptable. Still it reveals much of my hardware which to be honest I am uncomfortable with. Thank you for your response though.

This sounds like a good idea. Thank you for taking the time.

Thank you. What is the difference between NAT and bridge in simple terms?

This is something I’ll have to look into further as I do not fully understand the whole concept of what is happening when running windows games under linux and how something is repacked to only work on linux. Thank you though.

Thank you for this information. Would it be best to run firejail in a limited user?

What about firejail vs a separate limited user account?

Thank you, that is something to consider. What are your thoughts on sandboxing vs using a user with no privileges?

Firejail is definitely something I’ll be looking into on the sandboxing front as it may be the better solution from the sounds of it. How does a sandbox compare to running in a VM? Technically speaking, is the VM safer? Though I appreciate the difference in this scenario may be very small.

When you say repacks, are these repacks of files designed to be used in windows with pre-installed cracks etc or is it more specifically a repack designed to be run under linux?

Sounds like a good idea, thank you for the suggestion.