Running Wine as a separate user

Do any of you use the steps outlined here?

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wine#Running_Wine_under_a_separate_user_account

If so, what are the pros/cons? Does it have any effect on, say, running Steam with Proton?

No, not me :slight_smile:

Idea is to isolate software in doubt…But really you have to run some hardcore Windows viruses so it could mess your Linux part…

So i’d say if you in doubt about software you run with Wine - maybe it’s nice idea…

Nah, it shouldn’t as far as i know

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No, I expect you need it only if you expect some malicious content in the software. For that I have a dedicated windows 10 partition (dual-boot) which can be erased with ease. But my paranoid-self alway wanted something like that but it was always overruled by my lazy-self. :smile:

If you go that way I wonder if it is better to mark all your main user data with permission 660 instead of 664 so that wineuser couldn’t read them and spy on you.

What I find very useful is to separate wine “home” folders from my linux /home (winecfg → Desktop Integration → Folders). Just to make it clean when I delete whole WINEPREFIX and start from scratch.

Only thing I could thik of is a problem with permissions. So if for example your wineuser doesn’t have a presmission to use DVD drive or network.

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Huh, ok that sounds like a good idea actually.

There is absolute no issue running wine as a separate user.

Just don’t install using package manager.

While I have never had the urge to get very intimate with wine - I have been running wine for years from my home folder - but I am using Crossover - installing by using the generic installer - which runs explicit in your home - nowhere else.

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So you say pacman -S wine is a bad idea or do I just understand you incorrectly? Can you please elaborate?
I am just asking because I have never had a problem doing so.

Yes, It sometimes surprises even me that I can come up with good ideas as well. :rofl:

Using the package manager is not a bad idea and using a package manager will install it system wide.

I understood your topic as you wanted to isolate wine using a separate user and that is only possible if you don’t use the package manager.

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I see now. But I wonder if isolating wine on its own gives any benefit.
The target is to isolate a program that is run through wine; not the wine itself (since it doesn’t have any malicious content).

There are some extremely sophisticated viruses which once executed (manually of course at first) will also spread in your Linux system from Wine and may mess HOME or something like that…

Not root though, at least not that i’ve heard of.

But i mean, it’s very unlikely you’ll stumble across something like that