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The problem with Mint is that they have easy screensaver bypass bugs open for years and they don't do anything about it. That is a problem on its own. You can'

The problem with Mint is that they have easy screensaver bypass bugs open for years and they don't do anything about it. That is a problem on its own. You can't leave a Mint laptop unattended. And I find it hard to take a distro seriously which does not give a damn about such a basic security aspect. So I stick to Ubuntu for now. I installed plain Ubuntu and then changed the desktop to KDE. To have a taskbar. Unfortunately, the screensaver in this setup also seems rather wonky. I have not found direct bypasses yet, but I sometimes see my desktop when I open the laptop. Which tells me that KDE might also have a fragile screensaver setup :/

chockchocschoir 5y ago
What bug are you referring to? After searching I can only find references to bugs in cinnamon-screensaver and xorg-x11-server that have all been fixed. - https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-mint-fixes-screensaver-bypass-discovered-by-two-kids/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-mint-fixes-screensaver-b... - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-25712 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-25712 - https://github.com/linuxmint/cinnamon-screensaver/issues/354 https://github.com/linuxmint/cinnamon-screensaver/issues/354 Is there another bug that is long-standing and have not yet been fixed?
- ArtTimeInvestor 5y ago
  I'm in a hurry right now, so I cannot do a lot of searching, but these might be pointers: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1236089-odd-way-to-bypass-login-on-mint/ https://linustechtips.com/topic/1236089-odd-way-to-bypass-lo... https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mate-screensaver/+bug/1768352 https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mate-screensaver/+... https://github.com/mate-desktop/mate-screensaver/issues/170 https://github.com/mate-desktop/mate-screensaver/issues/170 What I personally noticed is that when I plug/unplug an external monitor, Mint shows the desktop for half a second or so. I was even able to type stuff into an open termial in these moments. So it is clear that with some fiddling, it would be possible to construct a bypass from this. Doing some Google searches, I found similar (but not quite the same) open issues with Mints screen saver. That is when I decided to not use it anymore.
cpach 5y ago
Ouch. Related reading: httpx://www.jwz.org/blog/2021/01/i-told-you-so-2021-edition/ (I garbled the URL intentionally since JWZ does ”anti-HN” protection on his site.)
ChuckNorris89 5y ago
>I installed plain Ubuntu and then changed the desktop to KDE. That was a mistake on your end. It's usually never a good idea to swap the DE of an opinionated distro if you're not a Linux expert or enjoy some masochistic tinkering. If you want a KDE Ubuntu then go with a distro that ships Ubuntu with KDE out of the box like Kubuntu or KDE Neon. Personally I'm not a fan of Ubuntu anymore or their spin of Gnome. It's too outdated packages and too opinionated for my taste. I feel like Fedora has become what originally made Ubuntu popular: up to date, polished and simple to use without bloat. If you're in camp KDE, nobody does it better than OpenSUSE. My 2 cents.
BlueNorth 5y ago
I've been using Kubuntu for a few years. There are no snaps, and not too many opinions, everything is option. I only use LTS to avoid breakage. I also avoid Neon to avoid said breakage and the packages are too exotic for my need. Kubuntu LTS is good on its own. Good luck on your journey.

chockchocschoir 5y ago

What bug are you referring to? After searching I can only find references to bugs in cinnamon-screensaver and xorg-x11-server that have all been fixed. - https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-mint-fixes-screensaver-bypass-discovered-by-two-kids/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-mint-fixes-screensaver-b... - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-25712 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-25712 - https://github.com/linuxmint/cinnamon-screensaver/issues/354 https://github.com/linuxmint/cinnamon-screensaver/issues/354 Is there another bug that is long-standing and have not yet been fixed?

ArtTimeInvestor 5y ago
I'm in a hurry right now, so I cannot do a lot of searching, but these might be pointers: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1236089-odd-way-to-bypass-login-on-mint/ https://linustechtips.com/topic/1236089-odd-way-to-bypass-lo... https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mate-screensaver/+bug/1768352 https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mate-screensaver/+... https://github.com/mate-desktop/mate-screensaver/issues/170 https://github.com/mate-desktop/mate-screensaver/issues/170 What I personally noticed is that when I plug/unplug an external monitor, Mint shows the desktop for half a second or so. I was even able to type stuff into an open termial in these moments. So it is clear that with some fiddling, it would be possible to construct a bypass from this. Doing some Google searches, I found similar (but not quite the same) open issues with Mints screen saver. That is when I decided to not use it anymore.

cpach 5y ago

Ouch. Related reading: httpx://www.jwz.org/blog/2021/01/i-told-you-so-2021-edition/ (I garbled the URL intentionally since JWZ does ”anti-HN” protection on his site.)

ChuckNorris89 5y ago

>I installed plain Ubuntu and then changed the desktop to KDE. That was a mistake on your end. It's usually never a good idea to swap the DE of an opinionated distro if you're not a Linux expert or enjoy some masochistic tinkering. If you want a KDE Ubuntu then go with a distro that ships Ubuntu with KDE out of the box like Kubuntu or KDE Neon. Personally I'm not a fan of Ubuntu anymore or their spin of Gnome. It's too outdated packages and too opinionated for my taste. I feel like Fedora has become what originally made Ubuntu popular: up to date, polished and simple to use without bloat. If you're in camp KDE, nobody does it better than OpenSUSE. My 2 cents.

BlueNorth 5y ago

I've been using Kubuntu for a few years. There are no snaps, and not too many opinions, everything is option. I only use LTS to avoid breakage. I also avoid Neon to avoid said breakage and the packages are too exotic for my need. Kubuntu LTS is good on its own. Good luck on your journey.