so i've been fucking around with secureblue lately and holy shit, someone finally made a linux distro that takes security seriously. it's based on fedora atomic but actually has its head screwed on straight when it comes to hardening.
what the fuck is secureblue?
secureblue is basically what happens when you take linux and make it not garbage from a security perspective. it's a linux desktop operating system that ships with actual security hardening out of the box instead of the usual "install it yourself and hope for the best" approach that every other distro seems to love.
the project is built on fedora atomic desktop but adds meaningful security improvements and hardening by default. we're talking hardened kernels, decent sandboxing, encrypted dns, and a whole bunch of other shit that should have been standard years ago but somehow isn't.
why this matters (and why other distros are trash)
here's the thing that pisses me off about most linux distros: they act like security is some advanced user feature instead of basic fucking functionality. ubuntu ships with snap packages that have worse sandboxing than windows 95. fedora workstation has better defaults but still leaves you to figure out hardening yourself. and don't even get me started on arch - "install it yourself" is not a security model.
secureblue actually gives a shit about protecting you from:
- malware and exploits - hardened kernel with proper exploit mitigations
- application vulnerabilities - everything runs in sandboxes that actually work
- supply chain attacks - signed images and secureboot
- network surveillance - built-in firewall and network isolation
what makes secureblue not suck
hardened kernel
secureblue ships with a properly hardened kernel that includes all the exploit mitigations that other distros consider "too experimental" or "performance impacting". newsflash: a few percent performance hit is worth not getting owned by script kiddies.
sane defaults
everything is configured securely by default. usbguard (opt-in), kernel hardening, secure boot supported, and a bunch of other shit that you'd normally have to set up yourself. this is how it should be everywhere.
minimal attack surface
they actually removed unnecessary services and packages instead of just dumping everything on the system like most distros. fewer components = fewer vulnerabilities = fewer ways to get fucked.
decent sandboxing
applications run in flatpak containers with restricted permissions. it's not perfect (nothing is) but it's way better than the "everything runs as your user with full filesystem access" model that most desktop linux uses.
trivalent browser
secureblue also ships with their own hardened browser called trivalent, which is basically chromium with a strong focus on security that also includes various patches from vanadium.
trivalent includes proper ad blocking, tracking protection, and custom flags for additional hardening. no need to install a dozen extensions that might be compromised - the browser is secure by default. it also integrates with the system's sandboxing to provide better isolation than regular browsers.
the technical shit that matters
secureblue implements a bunch of hardening measures that most distros ignore:
- bash lockdown – mitigates LD_PRELOAD attacks and reduces the attack surface
- usbguard – blocks unauthorized USB devices to prevent physical attacks
- hardened memory allocator - prevents heap exploitation techniques
- kernel hardening - additional kernel hardening patches
- flatpak hardening – limits app permissions via sandboxing and portal-based access
this isn't just security theater - these are real mitigations that make actual attacks significantly harder.
where it falls short (because nothing is perfect)
secureblue isn't magic, and it has limitations:
- still linux - the underlying system was never designed for security, so there are fundamental limitations
- application trust model - you still have to trust flatpak applications not to be malicious
- learning curve - if you're used to traditional package management, the atomic model takes some adjustment
but here's the thing: these are limitations of desktop linux in general, not specific problems with secureblue. they're doing the best job possible within the constraints of the platform.
who should use this shit
secureblue is perfect for:
- people who want security without the hassle - it just works
- users who handle sensitive data - better isolation and sandboxing
- anyone tired of manually hardening their system - all the work is done for you
- privacy-conscious users - no telemetry, secure without the corporate bullshit
it's not for you if you need bleeding-edge packages, want to customize everything, or prefer traditional package management. stick with arch if you want to spend your weekends configuring shit.
why you should give a shit
because your current linux setup is probably less secure than windows 7, and that's fucking embarrassing. most linux users run around with no sandboxing, weak exploit mitigations, and a false sense of security based on obscurity.
secureblue proves that linux can be secure without being a pain in the ass to use. it's not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than whatever frankenstein setup you're probably running right now.
plus, it's refreshing to see a project that prioritizes security over flashy features and corporate partnerships. no telemetry, no data collection, no corporate bullshit - just a secure operating system that works.
the bottom line
secureblue is what linux security should have looked like from the beginning. it takes the lessons learned from shitty security and applies them to desktop linux in a way that actually works.
is it perfect? no. is it better than whatever you're using now? probably. should more distros follow their example? absolutely.
go check out secureblue.dev and maybe stop running an operating system that treats security as an afterthought.
tl;dr: secureblue is for those whose first priority is using desktop linux, and second priority is security. it's like if someone actually gave a shit about desktop security. use it.
