So, a while back I installed Xfce with Chicago95, but was disappointed. Xfce just doesn’t vibe with me, and a strict emulation of Windows95 is not really what I wanted, I just wanted something that “felt” that classic.
So I was gonna give up and just use KDE, until I saw TDE. I think TDE is probably what I’m looking for but I’m concerned about using anything so minor because security.
It TDE secure (for personal use)?
Can a DE even be insecure, or are they all generally as secure as each-other as long as you follow the rules (trustworthy software, closed firewall, install patches fast, and disaster recovery plans)?
What vulnerabilities can a desktop environment even have (edit)?
Desktop environments are not equal form the security perspective, but they all are rather insecure, because security is hard and harms UX, and the GNU/Linux desktop is traditionally focused on UX and the user freedom by sacrificing security. However it is possible to build a secure environment based on an insecure DE, what Qubes OS does with XFCE, for example.
The question I want to ask here is, what does “secure” and “insecure” mean in the context of a DE. What distinguishes a secure and insecure DE from a practical perspective (physical access, privilege escalation, rootkits, etc.).
As one practical example, a malicious program may monitor your key presses to extract your passwords (in web browsers or sudo).
Or it could be taking screenshots behind the scenes and sending that data remotely or to a local AI.
Or turning on your mic and….
So basically they still require arbitrary code execution as a starting point.
Another guy shared this link from Secureblue that goes into thumbnail generation, which can be done programmatically and has been documented in the past as an avenue for infection in Nautilus.