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Hello all! I recently got an old Dell laptop that had been repurposed as a Linux Mint machine. I was setting it up and fell at the first hurdle.

I tried to install ExpressVPN. The install package downloaded fine, but took two hours to extract and failed for "bad characters". I fiddled with it for a while and couldn't do better.

First, it's the VPN software for Linux desktop, since they didn't have one for laptops. Could this be the problem?

Second, do I really need a VPN if I don't torrent stuff? I just think of a VPN as a basic part of my security, but I don't really know.

And, third, speaking of basic security: do I need an antivirus on this?

Thanks for any help!

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[-] hallettj@leminal.space 4 points 1 week ago

In this context "Linux desktop" means not a server. Or in other words, a Linux computer with a graphical user interface. So it includes laptops. I can't think of any software that would work on a desktop that wouldn't work on laptop.

You'll sometimes see the "desktop" clarification because technically the majority of Linux computers are headless servers. (Headless means no screen.)

this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2026
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