hi, I had a few newbie questions before decising whether I want to install FydeOS, sorry if they sound silly
I would appreciate if a developer could answer them, as I would like to know for sure
but if you’re busy, I understand, I don’t mean to be demanding
at the end of initial system configuration, you’re offered to join a FydeOS user experience improvement plan, what is that about? Does this include sending optional data to FydeOS? What kind of data?
the website says that FydeOS has encryption by default, does this mean full disk encryption with a password to decrypt the system every time you launch it?
the website says that the FydeOS AI is seamlessly integrated into the system. As I’m not sure what that means, I was wondering, is it possible to fully disable that AI? What about uninstalling it, or at least blocking it’s access to my data?
if I use a FydeOS account, does this mean I can reinstall my system, then log into the account and fully restore browser cache, so that I don’t have to log into every website again, change their permissions, change the browser settings, etc.?
am I correct to assume that the system fully disables the ability to install traditional applications, and no package manager will work?
being a fork of ChromeOS (or ChromiumOS), does FydeOS change anything in the security model of ChromeOS? Like, do you open up more system stuff in order to give the user more ability to manage their system or install things? If yes, what exact changes do you make?
if I understood correctly, the Chromium OS platform is different from the Chromium browser (although I know nothing about it). Does the Chromium OS platform get updated in between major releases? Or is it stuck within the same version for half a year, until the next major release? How does ChromeOS deal with is? Does FydeOS just mirror their release/update cycle, or does it have it’s own, slower/more LTS kind of cycle? Generally, do you tend toward LTS versions, or more newer and more fresh updates?
also, I saw in your latest release notes that Chromium is updated to version 132, but the latest version is now 138. I hope we get to have that in FydeOS? (I apologize if it’s a silly question, like “do you update your browser to the latest version”, I just want to be sure before I make the decision to actually install FydeOS)
what is the current version of the Android subsystem? (I haven’t found this in the latest release notes)
does openFyde provide a Linux subystem? Or is it also limited to FydeOS, like the Android subsystem?
at the end of initial system configuration, you’re offered to join a FydeOS user experience improvement plan, what is that about? Does this include sending optional data to FydeOS? What kind of data? https://fydeos.io/privacy/ The Privacy Policy provides detailed information about what data FydeOS collects.
the website says that FydeOS has encryption by default, does this mean full disk encryption with a password to decrypt the system every time you launch it?
Yes.
the website says that the FydeOS AI is seamlessly integrated into the system. As I’m not sure what that means, I was wondering, is it possible to fully disable that AI? What about uninstalling it, or at least blocking it’s access to my data?
FydeOS AI has a separate app. If you don’t need it, you can simply choose not to open or activate it.
if I use a FydeOS account, does this mean I can reinstall my system, then log into the account and fully restore browser cache, so that I don’t have to log into every website again, change their permissions, change the browser settings, etc.?
Yes, your personal browser preferences will all be synchronized.
am I correct to assume that the system fully disables the ability to install traditional applications, and no package manager will work?
You can use the Linux subsystem, as package management is not available in the main system.
being a fork of ChromeOS (or ChromiumOS), does FydeOS change anything in the security model of ChromeOS? Like, do you open up more system stuff in order to give the user more ability to manage their system or install things? If yes, what exact changes do you make?
In terms of security modules, we haven’t made any changes. ChromeOS itself already does an excellent job in this area.
if I understood correctly, the Chromium OS platform is different from the Chromium browser (although I know nothing about it). Does the Chromium OS platform get updated in between major releases? Or is it stuck within the same version for half a year, until the next major release? How does ChromeOS deal with is? Does FydeOS just mirror their release/update cycle, or does it have it’s own, slower/more LTS kind of cycle? Generally, do you tend toward LTS versions, or more newer and more fresh updates?
Currently, ChromeOS follows the Chromium release cycle, with a new version every 6 weeks. FydeOS, on the other hand, follows the ChromeOS LTS (Long Term Support) upgrade schedule, which means FydeOS releases a major version for every 6 ChromeOS versions. For example, FydeOS v20 corresponds to ChromeOS 132. At present, FydeOS is developing v21, which will correspond to ChromeOS v138.
also, I saw in your latest release notes that Chromium is updated to version 132, but the latest version is now 138. I hope we get to have that in FydeOS? (I apologize if it’s a silly question, like “do you update your browser to the latest version”, I just want to be sure before I make the decision to actually install FydeOS)
I aswered in last question.
what is the current version of the Android subsystem? (I haven’t found this in the latest release notes)
It depends on the version you are using—some versions are based on Android 13, while others are based on Android 11. In FydeOS for PC, the Intel Modern version uses Android 13.
does openFyde provide a Linux subystem? Or is it also limited to FydeOS, like the Android subsystem?
Linux subsystem is availbe in openFyde.
thank you a lot for your answers, that helps!
I only have additional questions about this:
wait, so… your browser doesn’t receive updates for 36 weeks at a time? Or does it receive security patches or something similar?
I’m just asking because I’m always worried about security, and if there’s no browser updates for so long at a time, that seems worrying…
that… would offer the strongest security yeah haha.
it’s just, I’m not a tech kinda person, so I’m just trying to determine whether keeping a browser not updated for 36 weeks is… something safe at all.
for example, I heard that Google published an urgent fix for another severe vulberability in Chromium, just a few days ago. The same thing happened a few weeks ago, too. It would be sad to use a browser, knowing that it’s not receiving all the urgent security updates.
I’ve used a number of systems before, and even those that tend to stick to an LTS release cycle, usually keep their browsers updated regardless (or at least use security patch updates, even if they don’t update the browser’s version itself). So I was just genuinely wondering whether FydeOS’ Chromium browser also receives something like this, or it’s completely stuck until the next OS version, not even receiving security patches?
The overall security situation for Chrome on macOS, Windows, and Linux differs from Chrome/Chromium on ChromeOS / ChromiumOS / FydeOS.
Chromium OS, by design, incorporates numerous security features that prevent any possibility of exploits on Windows, macOS, and Linux. If you disable “Developer mode” in FydeOS, it will have the same system-level locked-down feature, preventing any alterations to system files. It’s essentially a walled garden.
Occasionally, we release ad-hoc security updates between milestone updates, which are usually called “maintenance updates.” This is usually to respond to CVEs in the Chromium or on the dependencies on the platform level.
While it’s not ideal that the milestone Chromium version gets stuck in LTS for an extended period, the only drawback is that new browser features may be delayed. However, there should be no concern about security.
A few years ago, Google experimented with a mechanism to separate the Chromium browser from Chromium OS - the LaCros project. This inititive lasted for years before it was eventually shut down, one of the reasons were the introduction of additional security concerns. Ironically, having the ability to decouple the userland application from the platform introduces more possibilities for exploitation, which is counterintuitive but a reality.
I thought it was disabled by default, wasn’t it?..
you mean the read-only state of files?
I used to think it must provide good security, but… at one point I had a conversation with some people experienced in tech and security, and specifically in immutable read-only systems… they said that it doesn’t provide that much security, because the system can easily be remounted as read-write if you have root access, and most malware needs root access in order to do anything to your system anyway…
although now that I think about it, the person that told me this wasn’t talking about ChromeOS. So, perhaps ChromeOS uses different implementations of making the system read-only, where it’s not as easy as just remounting it as read-write, who knows…
Actually in ChromeOS, even if you gain root authority, what you can do is still very limited. It’s not like regular Linux where you can freely install things. People often ask here how to install drivers on FydeOS – the truth is you basically can’t. It doesn’t match the flexibility of regular Linux, but at least it guarantees security.
that is very cool, I sure hope I won’t need any functionality that would be unavailable…