Again: Support for Linux

This is also an issue that will probably move me to another product if F-secure doesn't provide a VPN client for Linux.

I have a license for 10 devices and 3 of them are in use on Win devices. Since the support will end for Win 10 (2/3 of my Win devices), I will start to use them on Linux. On one of them I already have a dual boot system. I also have a chromebook, that is past updates, and I have been using it with Freedome VPN on the Android subsystem. But I will also install only Linux on that device.

This means that it will be time to move on to a service that supports Linux when my current subscription of F-secure Total runs out.

It's quite crazy that F-secure doesn't provide a Linux client, when the spin-off WithSecure does it.

Dear F-Secure People,
I have been using F-Secure for many years and I am satisfied with it. Recently, I have installed Ubuntu Linux on one laptop of mine. I will use that laptop heavily in future. I am just recognizing that you have no version for Linux at all. Is there any Linux version of F-Secure antivirus/internet security/VPN to be hoped for? Fingers crossed. If yes, when is it planned to be available for subscribers?
Thank you so much.

+1, have been so pissed for microsoft and state of windows that moving to linux now, and would love to use my paid license in that too.

I'm honestly quite surprised F-Secure doesn't support Linux, it could be a great business opportunity. Especially now that Windows is trying to make millions and millions of working computers useless just because they want to grow their business. I'm not throwing away my working computer in this economy and in this environmental crisis.

There's A LOT of demand for security for Linux. The activity of this forum truly does not reflect the real needs people have. Most people don't bother creating an account here or they don't even know this exists… Anyway, I hope Linux will be supported shortly so I can continue my subscription services. Thanks!

I have no need for the VPN as I have an independent solution for that, even on Windows. Just provide the functionality that won't require the F-Secure VPN …

Anither happy F-Secure user, only for 5 or so years (especially the password manager and virus scanner; VPN I have from Proton).

We too want to move away from Windows for multiple reasons (OS-spyware, disliking the way Microsoft is starting to nickle-and-dime their customers, forcing Co-Pilot down ones throat, etc.).

Though I'd like to continue to use F-Secure for Password Management and anti-virus.

I hope the team will revise their decision and start supporting LINUX.

I've don't remember the last time I've used time to post on a support forum, but here goes. I'm just adding my wish among the already existing ones here for adding support for some major Linux distributions.

I've used the F-Secure applications as long as I remember, nowadays especially the password vault and the VPN. Now that I've migrated my final Windows to a Debian-based distro, I'm in a bit of a pickle as now the only device I can use Total products with - especially the Vault - is my Android. Practically this means that I have no synchronization options for my saved credentials. I could always export and encrypt the data manually, but that would generally speaking be either unsafe or at least impractical.

I get that porting the whole application to even some major distribution is most likely a great task as it apparently contains all the previously separated apps in one package. I remember when the apps used to be separate, and one without any deeper technical insight might argue that porting the separate applications one-by-one could have been easier in contrast to the current, monolithic-seeming situation. On the other side, using Linux is becoming more common as especially the gaming support has hugely improved during the last few years, but also due to people seeming to be more privacy-oriented than before. All in all, I'd bet that building some support to begin with would result in more users - including me - keeping their subscriptions active, but also gaining new ones.

As many others here, I wouldn't want to abandon a great product made in my home country during an age in which supporting European products is essential to one's privacy and security.

We don't need F-secure total solution for every Linux Distro. We need access to F-Secure VPN for Wireguard or OpenVPN. WithSecure supports Linux, but home users can't access that.

So, for home users Password Vault and VPN for Linux, please.

It is a shame that a Finnish cyber security company does not suppor operation system developed in Finland.

1. Poor Return on Investment (ROI) and Marginal Market Share

• Small target audience: While desktop Linux usage has grown, it still represents only about 3–4% of global consumer PCs.
• Willingness to pay and open-source ethos: The Linux community traditionally favors free, open-source alternatives (such as ClamAV, native WireGuard configurations, Bitwarden, or KeePassXC). The willingness to purchase a closed-source, subscription-based commercial security suite is significantly lower among Linux users than among Windows or macOS users.
• Enterprise operations are separated: The profitable Linux server and enterprise workstation segment belongs to sister company WithSecure. Consequently, consumer-facing F-Secure would have to recover all development and support costs exclusively from home-user licenses.

2. Massive Fragmentation of the Linux Ecosystem

Targeting and testing a unified build on Windows or macOS is straightforward, but desktop Linux introduces an overwhelming matrix of variables:

• Distributions and packaging formats: The software would require creating, packaging, and maintaining multiple package types (.deb, .rpm, Flatpak, Snap, and Arch-based packages).
• Core system differences:
  • Display protocols: Legacy X11 vs. modern Wayland (screen capture, clipboard handling for password vaults, and window protection operate on fundamentally different architectures).
  • System services and networking: systemd vs. alternative init systems, NetworkManager vs. systemd-networkd.
• Regular distribution upgrades (such as biannual Ubuntu or Fedora releases) risk breaking background services, network routing, or VPN daemons.

3. Technical Architecture and Kernel Integration

• No stable internal Kernel ABI: Unlike Windows, the Linux kernel does not provide a stable internal application binary interface. Real-time file system scanners operating at the kernel level typically depend on kernel modules or eBPF routines, which can break with routine upstream kernel updates.
• Monolithic F-Secure Total suite: F-Secure's current offering is a bundled suite (antivirus, browser security, VPN, banking protection, and password management). Adapting such an interconnected suite to Linux's sandboxing, permissions, and security frameworks would demand a major architectural overhaul.

4. Excessive Burden on Quality Assurance and Customer Support

• Complex customer support queries: Technical issues raised by Linux users rarely resolve with standard advice like "reinstall the app." Problems typically involve custom kernels, non-standard firewalls (iptables vs. nftables), or niche desktop environments.
• Support training costs: Upskilling consumer support tiers to diagnose complex, distro-specific Linux environments represents a substantial ongoing operational overhead with little corresponding revenue gain.

5. Architectural Security Reduces the Need for Consumer Antivirus

• Permission model: Linux strictly separates core system libraries from unprivileged user accounts. Without root/sudo access, malicious payloads cannot modify core system binaries or embed persistence hooks as easily as in legacy desktop environments.
• Curated software repositories: Software is predominantly retrieved and vetted through signed package repositories rather than downloaded as arbitrary .exe installers from random websites.
• Marketing friction: It remains difficult to persuade security-conscious Linux power users that an active, background file scanner justifies its memory and CPU footprint.
• described in a single sentence: "Poor Business"