i have downloaded Zorin 18 Core onto my iMac successfully. Settings>Apps> pick one and this is what is coming up.
All saying the same - Not Sandboxed. is this a worry?
No. Nearly all preinstalled apps are native .deb (apt) packages which are integrated into the system and not sandboxed. Only flatpak and snap packages are sandboxed and isolated from the system.
From a security perspective, running apps in a sandbox is preferable, but it also has many disadvantages, such as apps not functioning properly because they do not have access to required functions/files and the resource consumption is higher.
In gnome software store you can install native Zorin Packages (which are usually .deb packages), flatpaks and snaps.
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There is also a degree of leading terminology here.
Sandboxing means that an application can operate with a degree of isolation. For example - a Flatpak, using Fleatseal and portals, is sandboxed, yet can reach outside of it using authenticated means.
This is true of GnuLinux in general.
When you install an application, you must authenticate it, then install it to /root where it is isolated from all user accounts.
It uses gpg or auth or other means in the same way Flatpak uses portals. (Well similar).
It is for this reason that Linux is called "secure." And for this reason I and others refer to Snap or Flatpak packages as "double sandboxed."
If a developer favors a process, as Gnome favors Flatpak since it is their own product, they may word things in a way to suggest it offers something that otherwise is lacking.
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Thank you both so much! as a newcomer to computer, let alone terminology, i shall take it onboard and unpack what you have kindly shared. many thanks
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