Immutable Linux delivers serious security - here are your 5 best options

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• An immutable distribution increases the security of the OS.
• Linux offers several different immutable distributions.
• Most of these are general-purpose, so anyone can use them.

What is an "immutable" Linux distribution?

Put simply, an immutable distro is one in which certain directories are read-only and cannot be changed. For example, the /usr directory contains many of your applications' binary executable files and is mounted read-only. Other directories mounted with only read permissions include /lib (essential shared libraries for system operation), /opt (used for optional software packages), and /var (stores variable data).

Also: What is immutable Linux? Here's why you'd run an immutable Linux distro

By mounting the directories that house application executables read-only, those apps cannot be swapped out for malicious counterfeits, which could damage your system or ...