Linux

Honestly it is going to take you longer to read all answers here than try yourself!

Get an extra HD, even a slow external one if you must, put Linux on it, install Steam and some games, try, decide for yourself.

Overall yes you can work and play on Linux comfortably, I've been doing it for year. No you don't need to be an expert to use Linux BUT it can be an amazing empowering moment to actually learn how a computer work BECAUSE you are free to do whatever you want with it. Just back up your data first THEN go nuts. Break stuff and learn, it's even more fun than gaming.

Others have already answered your questions, so I just wanted to add that the Linux community is based on sharing and cooperation, mainly though Open Source principles, but also in most other ways. From personal experience, I would say that the community is pretty much always willing to help out when you experience issues. There's always someone willing to share some insight.

Your questions will have different answers depending on which flavour of Linux you choose.

A good chunk of windows programs can be run using a program called “WINE”. WINE is just a command line program but you can get a GUI version easily.

Updates depend on your flavour but Debian based Linux (like Ubuntu) you just type “sudo apt get update” and then “sudo apt get upgrade” and bam everything is updated. No restart required.

If a program doesn’t work in Linux there can be workarounds or alternatives but that really depends on what program you are talking about.

You can play almost every game that exists on steam on Linux with the exception of games that have kernel level anti cheat like some competitive multiplayer games.

You’re arguably safer security-wise on Linux. Most people are on windows so that’s the majority of all viruses. Your security updates are included in system updates. No antivirus required.

I have never heard of Linux damaging hardware. I don’t think you need to worry about this.

Recommendation: get Bazzite. It’s a special type of Linux that is closest to a windows experience than anything else. It won’t let you do dumb things and mess up your install. It has all NVIDIA drivers preinstalled as well as gamepad drivers and everything you’d need for gaming (including dock support). It’s a no configuration needed OS. Linux on easy mode. You don’t even need to use the command line ever. Updates and apps are installed through the Linux equivalent of the Microsoft App Store (except this time it is great and doesn’t suck). And I say this as someone who only used windows until 15 years ago I messed around with Ubuntu and other Debian based Linux distributions.

As you can search the answer anywhere most games that don’t have kernel level anti cheat work.

Most programs can be run but not all.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Yes, there are way fewer games than on Windows, but support has been growing in the last few years

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

If the tools you use are available for Linux, then no problem

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

You can use WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) to run some Windows apps. You can check compatibility here: https://appdb.winehq.org/

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

.NET (Core and newer versions) is fully supported on Linux. Other Windows-specific libraries might be a problem unless they work through Wine

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

Yes, most desktop environments have a graphical interface for settings and updates

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

It's actually the opposite. Since the code is open, more people are checking for vulnerabilities, making it more secure than proprietary systems. In general, Linux users don’t need antivirus, as most malware targets Windows or macOS, and Linux malware usually needs privilege escalation

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

That’s debatable. Everyone has different experiences depending on their hardware and distro

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Nope

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Since you have a gamer profile, I'd suggest Pop!_OS (https://system76.com/pop/). It's based on Ubuntu and has good support for gaming and creative work

#1 was true more in the late 90s to early 00s. The operating system has matured quite a bit since then.

I love Debian, but I hear a lot of people suggesting Linux Mint for new users. If you're afraid of committing to a change, grab a cheap used system to try it out. Just know that if you have better hardware, itbwill really shine.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Most if not all single player games will work without an issue on steam thanks to its integration with proton, if you use something else you can use lutris to fill in the gaps there.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

I see no reason why you can't. Hopefully someone else can elaborate on that as I haven't done that in forever.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

It can be unusable. There could be workarounds but that would depend on how dirty you want your hands to get. You can install windows on a docker container and use that to fill in the blanks if needed. There would also be some linux alternatives of some apps which would be worth investigating and learning.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

I think dot net has been open sourced but you can get dot net apps using Mono.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a "Linux Update" program like what Windows has?

You use the package manager, which varies based on linux distro/flavor. It's your best friend and you'll get 90% of your apps that way too. Upgrading depends on whether you are using a stable distro which is like say windows 7 and you'll have to upgrade to windows 8 (omg lol) you'll have to follow the procedure of your distro, It's usually well documented and should be fairly easy if your sticking to the flavor of Linux you're using. If you're using a rolling distro/flavor then you'll just keep your packages up to date regularly via the package manager. Be warned sometimes you'll have 300+ packages to upgrade so if internet is spotty may not be your thing. But it's a great way to ensure you're getting the most out of your new exotic hardware.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Use clamav, make it watch the home directory /home as that's where you as the user have the privilege to write data to. Never run as root unless you're going to be extra careful. Also don't run scripts you don't understand or aren't well maintained in a public repo (at that point you as a newbie would be relying on community to determine if something is good or bad think of it as the upvote and downvote system but with more transparency)

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Yes, even the nvidia drivers are reliable. Just a pain as you'll have to reinstall the kernel module, the component that integrates the driver into your new kernel, after you upgrade kernel versions. Kernel is the thing that does all the low level handling of your devices.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Most hardwares/processors now are designed with failsafes to throttle when there's not enough cooling. Please elaborate a little on this. You can break software but I think hardware should not be. Hopefully someone can elaborate as well.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Linux mint, it is well documented, doesn't have the snaps that Ubuntu is pushing, its user friendly. Similarly fedora. You can try one of those immutable distros which may give you a more stable experience as it rolls back to a stable state on an update failure.

Without trying to be exhaustive:

But all I know about Linux is 1: it’s a cantankerous beast that can smell your fear and lack of computer skills and 2: that’s apparently not true any more?

Exactly.

I’m pretty much a fairly casual PC-user, I don’t do much more than play games.

Noted.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Your queries on which specific games work and don't work should be answered between the databases of ProtonDB, WineHQ, Lutris and Are We Anti-Cheat Yet?. Note, however, that these are not necessarily exhaustive (even if put together); e.g. after visiting the aforementioned websites, you might think that Roblox can't be played on Linux. But it's simply one of the many games that exist in the compatibility blind spots between these databases; as the excellent Sober isn't accounted for.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

There will definitely be a learning curve to be had. Though, AFAIK, there's nothing that outright prevents you beyond an initial (and potential) knowledge gap.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Wine is your best friend in these cases. Or, an alternative. Note that -again- compatibility blind spots in these databases continue to exist; like this significant one.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Again, Wine comes to the rescue.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

This depends entirely on the so-called Linux distribution you end up installing. Some opt to do updates automatically (perhaps in the background even), while others simply prompt the user whenever updates are available. Yet others expect the user to do them manually. What are your preferences in this regard?

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

This is somewhat of a controversial topic thanks to articles like this one. Note that while the article continues to be shared and thus remains 'popular', the fact of the matter is that at least some parts of it have become outdated since. Refer to this (more recent) article as an addendum. The gist would be that Linux might be secure enough for your intents and purposes. But this depends entirely on what you intend to use it for. Downloading and executing random files from the dark web is probs a bit much and not something any OS would appreciate. But playing your games through Steam and surfing the internet should be fine unless you're somehow targeted by a resourceful adversary. If you didn't worry too much about this on Windows and thus went with the default settings -so no hardening whatsoever-, then popular distros like Fedora should be more than fine for your use case. However, if you require more than that, then you may find solace in the fact that projects like Kicksecure and secureblue do exist. (There's also Qubes OS, but I'll assume that's too hardcore.)

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

In most cases, yeah. Historically, Nvidia used to be a pita. And, frankly, continues to be for some peeps. But it has improved significantly over the last couple of years.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Any bad software (irrespective of platform) can potentially damage hardware. Linux is no different in this regard. Though you shouldn't have to worry about this unless you intend do some janky stuff.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

As gaming seems high on your list, consider Bazzite.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

So this one I thought I'd answer because I've done development in both NET framework and NET core and how it works is different for each (although things will usually work one way or another).

For .NET framework applications, if the program is compiled for windows (the .exe) you can usually run it with mono (you generally don't need wine, but there's some caveats that mean sometimes you should use wine). This will include programs with GUIs. If the NET framework app calls other windows programs it is best to run it via wine, you will need to install the net framework within wine, but there's a winetricks command for that. There are a few things that are generally niche things that do not work in linux net framework's mono though. By niche the one I can think of, is serial port events. Very annoyingly they all exist, so the program will run but the events will never trigger an action in the programs. Very annoying, but luckily very rare/niche stuff.

For .NET core, you can build directly to linux targets, and if the project you are working on does target NET core, then you can run the binary natively (note: you usually cannot build applications using forms to linux native binaries, for these you should run the windows exe with wine). You can also run the .exe files for this with wine and I've rarely had a problem with it.

Note that if you develop .NET applications, you won't be able to build anything that uses the standard forms GUI under linux. There are other UI frameworks out there you can use that are multi platform. For this reason, for the projects that do use windows forms, I have a VM with windows on that I boot up for this reason.

In short, if you're just running windows binaries, you will be generally fine with mono for framework and wine for core. For development "it's complicated".

A lot of great questions. I think many details are already out there but I'll try to answer some to my best ability.

Answering the easier questions: Most games work check protondb.com for your specific games. There is a "Linux update" button on some popular mainstream linux distros - and it will never force you! Its also possible to update without rebooting for most updates (how great right?) No antivirus needed and it's more secure (but of course not invulnerable!)

Some of the other questions have a "It depends..up until a point" answers.

There are work arounds for non Linux programs....except for specific examples like some games. Valorant for example.

I'm not a modder or .NET expert but there's something called Wine which should help with that ...so answer is probably Yes-with caveats.

I'd recommend thinking about what are you "must work" deal breakers for work/hobbies (more specific than these more general questions) and considering if linux is for you. The distros that might work for you are Pop OS! and Linux Mint.

The neat thing is you can try these for free and hop around. I dual booted windows and Linux for a while before making the full time switch.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Many games with draconian anti cheat don't work. You can check that on https://areweanticheatyet.com/ and https://www.protondb.com/.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Do you mean creating or applying mods? Some of the tools might not run out of the box. But for most mods you actually just have to place the files in the correct folder.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Wine is the program used to run Windows software. It is used by Steam together with some other tools under the name Proton or Steam Play. It is best to use Wine with a helper frontend like Bottles. That creates an encapsulated Windows environment for every program and helps you in keeping potentially conflicting workarounds separate from each other.

But you can also run Wine standalone. Then every program will be installed to the same fake-Windows environment.

Missing libraries like .Net or the Visual C++ Runtime are actually the most common pitfall when trying to run Windows software on Linux. Bottles, Steam and other helpers will aid in their installation.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a "Linux Update" program like what Windows has?

Every distribution has an application repository that also contains the system files. In general you update everything at once through one interface.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Open source makes it more safe. You have more eyes on the software. And something that is only safe because nobody knows how it works isn't really safe.

Antivirus software's is not necessary. Neither is it necessary on Windows. It makes a system less secure because it opens up more possibilities of something going wrong. There have been enough cases of anti virus software with security issues on Windows. Or even anti virus software attacking important system files directly.

That said, if you still want to install a virus scanner there is ClamAV.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux

AMD and Intel greatly, because they are open source. They are integrated and don't need any configuration or installation.

Nvidia is worse. You have to install them yourself and sometimes they are unstable. But it's not worse than on Windows.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Only if you really try and even then it's probably impossible. Hardware nowadays has many safeguards.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

If you have friends or family already using Linux you should install what they use.

I like OpenSUSE Tumbleweed.

If you have any App you used before and isnt available on Linux: You can try to install the .exe-file with a Tool named "Bottles".

Each Programm you run with that tool gets its own virtual Space, so if you mess something up, you can throw that one bottle away and just create another in its fresh New environment.

It has a clean UI and you can play with all kinds of different configs to get your Bottle to run. You can choose between different Windows Versions for example.

Under the hood it uses Wine and Proton.

Pro-Tip: Start Programms via the UI in "Terminal-Mode" so you can See potential Error-Messages which you would normally not see, if you just run the Programm.

So I'm going to caveat this that I'm not an expert so if I get some details wrong, people should correct me.

Your ability to play games will be effected to some degree, but not as much as it used to be. Because of Valve's work on Proton, about 80% of the games on steam work. You can usethis website to check a community maintained list. Most of the remaining games that don't work are games that the developer went out of their way to not work on linux. This is usually by having an anticheat that doesn't work with linux, or not enabling linux support for an anticheat that does. For playing games not on steam, it requires a bit more effort, but there is Lutris and Heroic for that. Feel free to look into them or ask for more information.

For modding, I don't have as much experience but I have done it and you can. I think how well it works varies game to game, but then again, modding is like that anyway. One piece of advice I've heard is that if you are going to be molded, make the folders not case sensitive. This is because on windows folder names aren't case sensitive, but on linux they are. EG /Folder/ vs /folder/ are the same on windows, and by default different on linux.

For software without a linux version, you can usually find an open source or web app alternative. Microsoft Word doesn't have a linux version, but you can use Libre office, or use the browser version of it, or use Google Docs. For most intents and purposes, this is what you should do. However, you can use a program called WINE to run a lot of Windows software on linux. WINE is what Proton(see first paragraph) is derived from. Similar to Proton, there are limitations, but most come from the developer side these days from my understanding.

The good news is the .NET is on linux, officially supported. I habent checked in a while but i dont think its at 100% parity yet. And a good amount of software frameworks are also available. I've never run into a library or framework that didn't work on Linux that doesn't have a good alternative that does, but I'm not the most avid programmer so someone more experienced can chime in.

All versions of Linux have a program called a package manager, the specific one varies(apt, yum, etc), but they are the primary way you install software one linux. They are like an app store. It installs the software for you and updates it when you tell it to. Core system packages, like the kernel, are also updated through the package manager. Most of the time there is a GUI version or wrapper for package managers in case you aren't fond of using the terminal.

So this is another area where I don't know too much on, but my understanding that linux has fewer viruses and it being open source is a double-edged sword. There are fewer viruses for desktop linix because of the smaller user base. Why would someone making software to harm people not aim for the platforms with larger user bases like windows and Mac? This being said, I think there are more viruses for servers that target linux because of the dominance of it in that space. As for being open source being a double-edged sword, this means security exploits are easier to find because there are more people looking at the code. Both by those who wish to patch them and those who want to exploit them. All my friends and I don't use an anti-virus on our linux machines and just keep them up to date, but there does exist anti-virus for linux.

GPU driver are reliable in my experience, but more so for AMD. NVIDIA has proprietary drivers that some distributions don't let you install for ideological reasons, but they do work most of the time. My computer does run NVIDIA and while I have had issues getting started with the drivers its usually not a problem agyer you get past that stage. Again, AMD is better here and basically painless.

Not to my knowledge, no limux can't damage your hardware. But I'll leave this for someone with more knowledge than me.

The distro I tell beginners to start with is Mint. Installing NVIDIA drivers was easiest on that from my experience, and largely just works out of the box. It has a windows like UI but this is both a good and a bad thing. Good that it will be familiar; bad that you will sometime fall into windows behavior that doesn't make sense on linux. In the past ubuntu filled this niche, and mint is based on ubuntu, but canonical, the company behind ubuntu, has made some questionable choices.

Anyway wish you the best of luck and welcome to the linux community.

.NET applications using .NET Core or later are intended to be cross-platform, so technically, Linux can run .NET apps. (The use-case I know is running .NET sites on Linux servers)

Oh, also the biggest difference between Linux and Windows is that you don't go to different websites to install new software. In general you use your distribution's package manager. Think of it like a software center.

Going to a website to download software is a last ditch effort if your distribution doesn't have what you are looking for.

The are plenty answers already, but also I will respond in order to give you more opinions, so, you can have a more open view about what users do think about linux.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Yes. In windows you put the .exe in some folder and then double click to play it, easy. Nowadays games come with a client, like Rockstar Social Club, or the Ubisoft launcher that handles your account and manages game updates. In linux, even if you had only the .exe you still had to make an uncertain number of tweaks to achieve running the game, but, with the clients, you need to do both, find the correct tweaks to run the client and do the correct tweaks to run the game next. Even with modern solutions, like Proton, we strugle with games running in Linux. See there are no silver bullets.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

If you find trouble modding games on Windows, you also will have a bad time in linux.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

You can use WINE to give it a shot. There is a probability that works very well. But, like games, you will need to make tweaks to work properly. I had this problem with Rufus, there is not linux version, so you can run it with WINE, the problem is that Rufus under WINE doesn't reconogize your usb pendrives. Till this day I do not know how to fix that.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Thankfully we have dotnet core now, the thing is that the library or software must have been compiled with it to work in linux. There is also Mono.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

If you use a distro, like Linux Mint, there will be a job that will check for updates and then warn you. Normally, updates are done manuallly (sudo apt-get update, for example). The other thing is doing your own update script job that runs automatically weekly or monthly.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

This is a computers knowledge concern, most linux distribution have this disabled by default. Your resposability as linux administrator is set up your own security metrics. I use fail2ban, ufw, clamav and openssh. Very basic, if you ask me.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

With AMD hell yes. But, since I have never used Nvidia before my answer here could not be the most valuable, empirically speaking.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

The most probably thing that can happen to you is break your boot system. Hardware will be fine and you can always reinstall Linux/Windows with its default boot.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

As you want to play games, and, I do imagine that you also want linux as you main PC, I would recommend Linux Mint to start, all the documentation avaible for debian easily apply for Linux Mint, I mean, if you can't find some specific solution in the Linux Mint documentation.

My last two cents are the next ones: if you can, use windows just to play things and use linux for everything else. It works for me and may work with you. Cheers.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Not greatly. The games that have anti-cheat won't work on Linux. Anti-cheat is a security problem anyway (because they circumvent the kernel policies) and so linux will never support these.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

for the ones that work yes. There's a list of how well games work on linux, there's a website for that.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

For some "difficult" non-anti-cheat games there are some workarounds. If we're talking about apps and not games, then it's best to use the Linux equivalents, and forget the Windows ones.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

While there's WINE and .NET for Linux, Windows apps don't really work well. They usually break on new wine versions, or they don't work at all. For apps, use Linux native apps. Games generally work better than apps because they don't use too many of the Windows APIs (they're mostly 3D stuff, and not app apis).

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

It depends on the distro. Some distros have graphical front ends, some you have to use the terminal to update the OS.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

There's ClamAV, and also you should be turning the firewall On (some distros come with it, others you have to install it manually). Don't downloads random binary packages, only from the distro itself, or official packages.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Overall, yeah... but it does depend on the version of the driver, distro you're using, hardware etc. I use Intel graphics cards (dedicated) because I find their drivers to be more mature than nvidia's, for example.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Very unlikely, near zero.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Everyone is recommended to start with Linux Mint, because it's the distro with the most GUI front-end tools to do stuff. Yes, there are some distros that are more game-oriented, but they expect the user to know what they're doing. Start with Mint.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Not significantly as long as you are on the right distro for it.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

no. mod managers can work but its definitely not as easy. If you use steam workshop it works great usually, but something like vortex is gonna be a pain in the ass.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

You can run windows programs with wine. It's not that difficult to do. Its how games work on Linux that dont have linux support.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Usually you can get it to work. I have run across some specific programs for my job that simply wont work with wine, but they barely work on windows as it is. It may need fiddling with tho.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

Sometimes. It depends on the distro. Mint has an updater where you click update and ur done basically. Others you go in and do a terminal command which changes by package manager. For like OS version jumps if your not on a rolling release distro then it can be a bit of a bigger job. I recently updated my computer from Debian Bookworm to Debian Trixie. I went into the sources replaced bookworm with trixie, and ran the full upgrade command. Then rebooted and had to ctl alt f4 into terminal nuke gnome and reinstall that. Which is expected in that case. It can be a bit techy at times for something like that but for a normal update on a distro with a GUI updater its a button click. Usually no reboot needed either.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Dont download shit you shouldnt download. If your not sure if something has a virus or not you can get tools to scan for them, but windows is similar in that your main protection is just not doing something dumb. You can keep regular backups and if somehow you mess something up or get a virus just restore from it. PikaBackup works well.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

AMD is flawless usually. Nvidia i dont use but hear it can be more of a hassle. With AMD the drivers will come preinstalled with your distro usually. Some do Nvidia too some dont. There is an open source and proprietary nvidia driver you have to pick which one you want. Id research it for your specific card.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

No more than windows can. If you try to overclock without proper cooling or something for example. Thats BIOS stuff usually tho not an OS thing.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Maybe Nobara since you like gaming? Or Linux Mint its beginner friendly.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

It will be somewhat affected, but most games can be played via wine/proton.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Depends on the game and mods? Some games like Minecraft can run and be modded natively in Linux.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Again, there is wine/proton for that.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

If I remember correctly, you can install .NET, DirectX and so on in wine.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a "Linux Update" program like what Windows has?

You are going to love updates coming from Windows. Basically you run your package manager update command and everything is taken care of.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

I'm no security expert, but the consensus is that it's more secure. I'll leave it to more competent people to explain.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Depends. NVIDIA used to be annoying to manage.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

About this, I have no idea.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

I have seen Linux Mint often suggested to new users, but picking a distro is a topic that deserves a whole new post.