Stay safe with Flatseal, the Flatpak Permissions Manager
Breaking the Mold
© Lead Image © mackoflower, 123RF.com
Use an intuitive graphical interface to manage Flatpak application permissions and secure your Linux desktop.
Flatpak packages have fixed a major deployment friction for Linux users, but they have also introduced an interesting security challenge. In the traditional Linux packaging ecosystem, an app runs with the full user privileges of the account that launched it. Thanks to this arrangement, any app can easily view your entire home directory, read your private cryptographic keys, listen to your microphone, and even track your physical location.
Flatpak directly counters this exposure by isolating each app bundle inside a secure, containerized sandbox environment (see the box titled "Flatpak 101"). In essence, Flatpak creates a protective layer around each app to isolate it from your core files and personal data, granting the app only the bare minimum system access points it needs to fulfill the purpose it was designed for.
The challenge with this design is that you might discover that your Flatpak-installed IDE cannot see your remote development folders or the video editor or screen recorder is blind to your second hard drive.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Digital Autonomy
• How the Fediverse Found Parts for Its Platforms
• The Answer Was Already on the Shelf
• Changing the Chip Industry: How Public Investment Has Grown Open Silicon
• United Nations Open Source Portal Goes Live
• EU Open Source Strategy Plays Key Role in Tech Sovereignty Package
• France Says “Au Revoir” to Microsoft
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Bottlenecks Discovered by Meta Engineers Lead to Scalability Improvements
Thanks to a small group of engineers at Meta, the Linux kernel module kernfs has been improved, which has led to some serious gains.
-
PwnEscape Poses VM Vulnerability
A guest-to-host escape flaw in Linux KVM, named PwnEscape, might be yet another means of attacking Linux.
-
Linux Mint 27 Set for a Christmas Release
The developers behind Linux Mint have announced a Christmas release, and it looks like Santa's sack will be brimming with features.
-
Is Linus Torvalds Vibe Coding?
The creator of Linux has added AI into his process for Linux kernel development, and it's more than just for debugging.
-
openKylin 3.0 Released with Expanded AI Integration
The latest release features a pre-installed AI agent to help perform tasks.
-
DigitalOcean Ends Open Source Credits Program
In a change that has surprised many open source developers, DigitalOcean has decided to sunset its Open Source Credits Program.
-
Office 365 Available for Testing on Linux via Bottles
Linux users can now test the official Office 365, thanks to Mirko Brombin's work on Bottles.
-
Dutch Government Turns to Open Source for Digital Sovereignty
Following in the footsteps of other European countries, the Netherlands is looking to increase its sovereign digital infrastructure with open source software.
-
Linux May Soon Work on Snapdragon X2-Based PCs
If you're thinking about buying a Snapdragon X2-based desktop or laptop, Linux may soon be an option.
-
KDE for People Initiative Calls for AI Ban in Plasma
A new community of KDE wants the project to adopt a strict no-AI policy for KDE Plasma.