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Do you need to have a firewall on a linux desktop?
(discuss.tchncs.de)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I'd say if you plan on using it any public places, or if you don't have full control over all the computers/technology in your home network, it's a good idea to run one. It's a nice last resort should someone on the same lan have a piece of malicious software.