I was wondering if Neofetch is safe to install on my system. Does it access any files or pose any risks?
5 Answers
Neofetch itself is fine to install, but since it’s been discontinued, there are better alternatives like Fastfetch, ScreenFetch, or NerdFetch. These options are also safe and do not access files on your system. They just display system info without any risks.
It's open-source software, so you could even read the source code if you wanted – many have already audited it. Anything in the distro's repos is pretty safe, so you're good to go with Neofetch or its alternatives.
This is a joke, right? But seriously, for new users, yes, installing through the terminal can feel intimidating, but as long as you're getting stuff from a trusted package manager, you're usually in the safe zone.
No joke! I'm really new to Linux and unsure about terminal safety.
Yeah, it's generally safe to install Neofetch! However, some folks suggest using Fastfetch instead since Neofetch development has slowed down. Just keep in mind that it does need access to some system files to work properly, but there's no real risk involved.
Got it! I appreciate the clarification. I'll check out Fastfetch too.
Definitely safe! Unless you’re worried about Neofetch abducting you through your laptop screen, haha!
Annoyingly, none of those alternatives are in the default Ubuntu repos like Neofetch is!