In this paper we present the differences and similarities found between Low Ionization Narrow Emission Regions (LINERs) and Seyfert 2s based on their X-ray and optical emission. We have performed a careful study of the X-ray nuclear properties of a sample of 82 of these LINERs [1, 2, 3]. Around 90% of our sample galaxies show evidences of hosting an AGN. However, the most important question remains still open: Why are they different to other AGN? One of the most important differences that we find is that a thermal component is needed in a high fraction of LINERs (90%). We also present here the preliminary results on a high-resolution soft X-ray (0.2-2 keV) spectroscopic study of a sample of 53 LINERs observed with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) on board XMM-Newton. We have found that, in most cases, the soft spectra actually result from the blending of emission lines, similarly to what is found in Seyfert galaxies [4]. Emission lines between 5-30Ȧ have been systematically fitted to obtain their fluxes. We have found than for at least 30% of the sample the photoionization by the nuclear source is required to explain the spectral emission.