I was going to use the latest Ubuntu to game via Wine, but I am starting to wonder if it is worth the trouble. But then again I hate windows and have no desire to spend $100+ on something I hate.

One of the biggest issues with Linux is getting a proper security suite with real time scanning and firewall. I am not sure how to do this. All the normal companies seem to only provide business linux services, not consumer service. So, that won't work. Business stuff is stupidly expensive.

Plus what I have seen of various other security software seems very... iffy. I just don't know what to make of it.

How hard is it to game and use office suite type software on ubuntu? And I am used to Kaspersky. How do I get that level of security on Linux.

Most "Linux-native" games on GoG are explicitly tested on Ubuntu, so expect no/few problem there. Also, Libreoffice should work fine. If you want MS Office, Photoshop, or Windows games to work, you'll have to rely on Wine. Wine is a moving target, and appdb (the official database of application compatibility) is mostly worthless, so you'll have to just hope for the best. As the above poster has said, you may have the best luck using some sort of "wrapper" software rather than trying to do it all manually. For me, I have more broken Windows games than Linux games in absolute numbers, but by percentage, Windows wins (but I don't count dosbox, scummvm, or ags games as Windows or Linux, so my numbers are skewed). Over time, Linux abi instability will result in more and more broken Linux games, whereas Wine at least pretends to retain compatibility with old things (and, yet, I run 4 different versions to keep my library working, with varying winetricks to improve compatibility).

You want insane protection, use selinux or apparmor; I believe Ubuntu prefers apparmor. The kernel already manages firewalls; I suppose you're looking for some sort of user-friendly configurator, like gufw. In both cases, I recommend visiting the Ubuntu help wikis. As far as I know, there is no software which "actively scans memory for viruses"; the closest is calmav, which has browser plugins to autoscan downloaded files. I personally use only one "firewall": I run all games using a "nonet" wrapper which disables all interfaces but localhost, but programs can still bypass this by remote URL invocation on a running browser.

Disclaimer: I haven't used Ubuntu myself since 2010 (I use other distros). I also find local firewalls and insane app execution protection to be for paranoids, which is not my sort of insanity. In fact, at a job where we were ordered to do that sort of thing, I argued heavily against it, and eventually just quit instead of putting up with such bullshit.

For a while I felt the lack of constant security software and virus-checking software, but adjusted over a few weeks to how secure Linux is. Just took some time to adapt.

Gaming: I use Playonlinux, which needs wine (I install winetricks too, incase) via Packages (Linux Mint Cinnamon 18.1, radeon, Lenovo, i7), and use gamersonlinux too. Booman's guides are very clear and well done. Also, gog Linux games. Mint is based on Ubuntu 16.04, and I find Mint to be very straightforward and stable to use.

All of this was a real surprise to me. I'd been desperate to get away from constant driver/program/update/privacy issues on Windows, that were getting worse and worse. All I needed to make the leap was to be sure I could do art/have pressure sensitivity for Ugee, and LM was the only live-tested OS that did that, and the Ugee works perfectly; no need to install a driver. With being so desperate to make the leap, I'd thought I'd be sacrificing a lot of gaming, so was prepared to use the ipad and even bought an old PS3. But, 70 Linux GOG games later, and able to run dx9 games via wine/POL (via Booman's guides and the odd online search), and able to run games I didn't think I could (eg enemy front and crysis), I couldn't be happier.

Yes, some bigger and newer games Wine/POL have issues with, until there's further development (which is happening a lot), and most issues I know I haven't the tech ability to get into at all, but it's worth it to be away from Windows, lack of privacy, constant problems. I accept that some games won't work, and some don't work yet, but a lot do. Gamingonlinux is a good site to see what's going on with Linux and gaming. I find Linux to be very stable and safe, and in all the time since May have had no issues, seen nothing odd, no hijackings, nothing.

Office-wise, I find LibreOffice, particularly Writer, to be great ... creating a pdf, for example, couldn't be easier. Just add a page, add image, repeat, save as pdf.