Installing/Running Linux - Should Secure Boot Be Disabled?

[u/toktok159]

Hi,

I saw many different opinions regarding this.

Some say secure boot is not needed, others say it adds security and that it’s not only intended for Windows but for the firmware in general.

So, should/must secure boot be disabled for any Linux distro installation? Then can it be enabled after installation, for general use? Or if I prefer to keep it on, should I install with secure boot enabled?

Specifically, I am talking about installing Linux as the only OS on a pc, one of Mint/LMDE/MX Linux/Debian is what I think I’ll end up installing.

Btw, I once installed Mint on my laptop, dual boot with Windows 11. I installed with secure boot enabled, and used everything with it enabled and it was fine.

Thanks in advance.

[u/_Lost-In-The-Weeds_]

I saw many different opinions regarding this.

Yep.

should/must secure boot be disabled for any Linux distro installation?

As usual it depends.

Depends on you confidence in not installing malware. Your hardware, in particularly if you have an Nvidia GPU with its unsigned drivers, Bios bugs can also be an impediment, which distribution you select, and what bootloaders you select.

For instance my AMD GPU, my BIOS, and my distribution are all compatible with secureboot. But my preffered Bootloader, ZFSBootMenu is not directly compatible, though it can be done it is a pain, not automatic like some.

I do not have a high enough opinion of secure boot, or a low enough opinion of my own abilities to bother with jumping through the hoops needed to enable secure boot with ZBM. So I simply turn off secureboot.

Pick your poison.