Advanced Plus Security Divine_Barakah's Second Laptop Security Config

Last updated
Jul 10, 2026
How it's used?
For work or educational use
Operating system
Windows 11
On-device encryption
BitLocker Device Encryption for Windows
Log-in security
    • Biometrics (Windows Hello PIN, TouchID, Face, Iris, Fingerprint)
Security updates
Allow security updates
Update channels
Allow stable updates only
User Access Control
Always notify
Smart App Control
On
Network firewall
Enabled
About WiFi router
ISP-provided router.
Real-time security
Panda Dome Essential
Firewall security
Other - Internet Security (3rd-party)
About custom security
- Enabled Application Control
- Enhanced Panda Firewall settings.
- Protected Panda settings with a password
Periodic malware scanners
EEK
Malware sample testing
I do not participate in malware testing
Environment for malware testing
None
Browser(s) and extensions
Vivaldi (no extensions)
Waterfox (no extensions)
Helium (only the pre-installed unlock)
Secure DNS
Adguard Private DNS systemwide (Win 11 DNS over Https)
Desktop VPN
Adguard VPN
Password manager
Enpass Desktop synced to my cloud using WebDav.
Maintenance tools
Smarty Uninstaller
Hard Disk Sentinel Pro Portable
Lenovo Vantage (Commercial) deployed not the store version
File and Photo backup
Koofr
Filejump
Google Photos
Subscriptions
    • Google One AI Premium 2TB
System recovery
AOMEI Backupper Pro
Risk factors
    • Browsing to popular websites
    • Working from home
    • Making audio/video calls
    • Opening email attachments
    • Buying from online stores, entering banks card details
    • Logging into my bank account
    • Downloading software and files from reputable sites
    • Streaming audio/video content from trusted sites or paid subscriptions
Computer specs
Lenovo Thinkpad X13 Gen 3
Notable changes
Reverted to Windows 11 Pro 25H2
- blocked driver updates from Windows Update
- Deferred updates for 14 days.
What I'm looking for?

Looking for maximum feedback.

My experience with Fedora so far

1- The live USB failed to boot while secure boot is enabled

2- Installation was fast and smooth

3- Out of the box, everything is working without any tweaks on my Intel Thinkpad X13 Gen 3.

4- While flatpak is installed, it is not enabled out of the box and none of the software is installed via flatpak. This is great for I always prefer native apps.

5- I experienced an issue while updating Fedora using dnf. Many mirrors threw "time out" error but that was easy to fix by using the fastestmirror=True flag.

6- the distro is not bloated at all. It comes with Libreoffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird pre installed. I removed Firefox and TB.

7- Driver and firmware updates are handled in FWUDmgr and I was able to update bios and Intel ME.

Now as for my config

I removed Firefox and TB and replaced them with Waterfox and claws mail.

I installed Hard Disk Sentinel cli

I also installed OnlyOffice, but kept Libreoffice as a backup.
----------------------

As for issues, I have not experienced any serious issues. The only issues I experience was a couple of warning that sth in cosmic de stopped working but I did not notice a difference and I already reported the issue.

The second issue was the time out error in updating Fedora, but that was easy to fix.

Lastly, removing a package (that was installed using .rpm package and imported its signing key) does not remove the imported key. You have to remove it manually.
 
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A new update

Fstrim.timer is enabled by default in Fedora

Firewall-cmd is enabled by default too, but it allows SSH by default. I blocked it as I am not using that feature and thus I disabled to reduce the attack surface.
 
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I was just reading about Helium Browser on Linux and remembered that you once asked me about browser issues with Flatpak, so this might interest you.

Flatpak/Flathub​

We will not support Flatpak as long as it's impossible to package Chromium without breaking its sandbox. We recommend that you use AppImage if an official distro package isn't available.
Click to expand...
github.com

GitHub - imputnet/helium-linux: Helium Browser for Linux

Helium Browser for Linux. Contribute to imputnet/helium-linux development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com github.com
 
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Reactions: Divine_Barakah
I installed fpintd to enroll my fingerprint and then selected it as the main authetication method in Authentication System.

Regarding secure boot, I have found the culprit. In secre boot settings, the option to allow Microsoft 3rd party certificates was toggled off. I enabled it and I was able to boot Fedora with secure boot enabled.

I am enjoying the experience. Linux has finally made it.
 
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Reactions: lokamoka820
lokamoka820 said:
I was just reading about Helium Browser on Linux and remembered that you once asked me about browser issues with Flatpak, so this might interest you.

github.com

GitHub - imputnet/helium-linux: Helium Browser for Linux

Helium Browser for Linux. Contribute to imputnet/helium-linux development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com github.com
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing this. It seems it is a real issue that needs be addressed by Flathub team. Thankfully I am using the Tarball version. I moved it to /opt/ and created the desktop shortcut using menulbre.
 
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- Installed Snapper and the DNF5 plugin and configured it to take automatic snapshots.

- Installed Vorta backup to backup my personal files.
 

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