I'm looking for some advice on getting started with Linux at home. I've been using a Red Hat CentOS distribution at work, and I want to transition to Linux for my personal computing needs as well. I have a gaming PC from around 2012 with good specs (Haswell CPU, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and a 6TB data drive), but I'm not gaming as much anymore. I'm more into watching movies I converted from disk, some light word processing and web browsing, and I do some IT research. I also have a Lenovo laptop from 2017 that I use for travel and research; it has a 256GB SSD.
I want to know the best way to start using Linux while still having my Windows setup as a safety net. Should I dual boot or use virtual machines? I'm worried about performance with VMs. Also, I'm curious if I need antivirus software for Linux and what free trusted apps are recommended. Finally, is there a Linux distribution similar to Mint, but based on Red Hat or CentOS Stream, so I can gain skills that complement my work experience? I'm looking for something user-friendly with great support, as I've struggled with getting apps to work with Red Hat in the past. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
Check out the migration tips available online to help you transition smoothly. There are loads of resources like the migration page from our community. Also, a quick search can pull up a good amount of user experiences that might help solidify your choice!
Just a tip: stick to using root only when necessary, and avoid third-party repositories unless you're sure about them. Always check the checksums of ISOs after downloading.
Good luck on your Linux journey!
For your Lenovo, if you don’t really need Windows for anything, why not just back up your files and try out Linux Mint? It’s super user-friendly, and since you have some background with Red Hat, you'll pick it up quickly. Mint is great for general use, especially if you’re just browsing.
As for anti-virus on Linux, you typically don’t need it, but ClamAV is a reliable option just in case. You can install apps via the repository, which is quite safe - think of it as the app store for Linux!
And regarding your distro preference, Fedora is pretty close to Red Hat, so you might find it more familiar than something like Mint. Plus, there's a KDE version that you might enjoy.
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