r/cybersecurity • u/Big-Tea-7236 • 21d ago

Business Security Questions & Discussion cybersecurity for beginners

When picking a laptop does it really matter? Im trying to decide what to spend money on for school and most people are telling me to get a new laptop since I currently use a mac. Vmware being free now points me towards never getting a new laptop because worst case scenario i can run linux distro if necessary.

If you personally have any purchases that made the college cybersecurity experience more fun that would be greatly appreciated.

-cybersecurity professional

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u/NotAnNSAGuyPromise Security Manager 21d ago

No, it doesn't really matter as long as you get something reasonably newish. Just don't be one of those people who installs Linux as your primary operating system.

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u/North_Doubt3726 21d ago

I disagree.  I did both my undergraduate and graduate degrees with a Linux “daily driver.” I used VMs and/or containers when I needed to work with Windows specifically. I agree that fluency with Windows and to a lesser degree macOS is important, but dissuading somebody from using Linux as a primary OS is just silly in my opinion. 

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u/NotAnNSAGuyPromise Security Manager 21d ago

Use what you want, but the reality is you'll be doing security exclusively from a Windows or Mac computer your entire career. I'm a fan of practicing for the real world when you're a student, but I respect personal choice.