When I started linux, I heard creating seperate user accounts for specific uses only is a good step to security in linux. I haven’t tried it but after seeing concerns regarding some game launchers snooping around the os, I am trying to see how hard will it be to not let them. I only know the basics of user creation through GUI.
I wont be running games by the way, but I want to have this knowledge of user accounts in linux as a linux security enthusiast. I just want to create a user account where only apps or packages will run with no root access or access to outside its home folder. Even installing apps or packages should not require root to install and must be installed in that home folder and not /usr/bin or /lib. Should be like sandbox environment. I have complete control of permisions and processes of the app. Dont say about flatpak or virtual machines, not talking about that here, just plain old linux.
Note that I am not doing this out of paronoia but as a security enthusiast. I have heard about firejail, SE linux, and WhonixOS but just scratched the surface of it.
How should I do this? I need some sources to read all about linux user accounts.
I have heard a lot of this apparmor but don’t know anything about it. I know the name explains it, but what is it exactly? What does it do?
Also you say as if creating profiles and users are different? Isn’t creating user accounts same as creating a new profile in linux, or am I confusing with profiles which are in apparmor?
Would appreciate some articles and tutorials regarding apparmor
An apparmor profile is associated with an executable, based on its filesystem path. I think distributions tend to support either SELinux or Apparmor, but some (like Arch) support both.
Apparmor profiles are easier to reason about than SELinux, I find.
@jbloggs777 @LifeLemons While it’s true distributions tend to choose apparmor or selinux by default (apparmor in the case of debian derived OS’s and selinux in the case of Redhat derived OS’s), all four are actually supported by the kernel and most distros include all in their repositories it’s just that those come installed by default.