MATE, and other distributions of the Linux operating system are more
secure, and better
supported than the operating systems pre-installed on most home computer hardware today. Linux is backed by many large
corporations, as well as independent developers and users, many of whom are focused on
ensuring and improving the security that is built into the operating system. The built-in updater provided with MATE
provides security updates for both its software applications and the operating
system.
Vulnerabilities are patched more quickly and are delivered automatically and
more frequently than the two most popular desktop operating systems.
Unlike operating systems that update only once a month, MATE receives updates continuously. The updates include security patches for MATE and its installed applications and are all provided on the same frequent schedule. This ensures that you have the latest protection for all of your computer's software -- as soon as it's available!
MATE is designed to make it difficult for viruses, rootkits, and other malware to be installed and run without conscious intervention by you, the user. MATE users are not administrators by default. Administrators ("root" users) on any computer system have permission to do anything they want, including doing damage to the system. To be extra secure, MATE requires you to provide your administrator password to install or run programs as root. Every single time.