Do I need antivirus and anti-malware software with Linux?
 

Do I need antivirus and anti-malware software with Linux?

i am working with linux since a few years. never seen any virus.
i feel antivirus or anti-malware software is not required.

If you plan on sharing files among Linux and Windows you do need anti virus. The virus will not affect you Linux computer but if you transfer an infected file to a Windows computer it will corrupt its hard drive.

So before you transfer a file from a Linux computer you should scan it first

Good luck to you.

yes and no

there are a few things that "can" install ( sort of ???)
last year a Apple Mac java based bit of malware was by accident able to copy it's self to the users HOME folder
deleting the folder uninstalled it

one other was only able to run in ram
loging out UNINSTALLED it

one placed it's self in a folder called ( all cap) "WIFIADAPT"
making a blank text file by that name will PREVENT it from installing


so yes or no ??? it is a ?? maybe??

Data security is a collection of best practices. The more of the best practices you use the more likely your data will be secure.

@ 009jim
I heard from a linux podcast about this tpoic. Linux doesn't have many viruses/malware in the wild but linux isn't immune to it either. Virus/malware writers will use exploits in software like adobe flash, pdf's files, compromised websites and etc to infect our systems.

I do have clamav installed just for insurance to check my system on a monthly interval, thus far, it has found zero infected files.

It's really up to you

precisely, there are several reasons why windows requires antivirus software
1) it's a big target so to speak, a lot more people use it making it an attractive target by market share, though this alone is only a rather small factor

2) windows is designed with the average computer illeterate user who has the mentality of 'just do it for me' and doesn't want to be bothered with the more technical aspects of a computer, so it was built to make a lot of this transparent and automated, this mentality of automatically doing things without having to demand interaction from the user is unfortunately contrary to secure practice. a good example of this is the 'auto run' on removable media such as CD/DVD/BLU-RAY and thumb drives, this is turned on by default, and was used to steal cash from windows based ATM machines.

however, what a lot of people sadly fail to understand is that data security is almost exacly the same in principal as personal fitness, it is not a product you can simply buy, just as buying a gym membership does not automatically make you lose weight, you have to come up with a personal fitness regimen that combines diet, exercise and actually GOING to that gym you bought a membership at and working out, data security involves a regimen of anti-virus, anti spyare, firewall, etc..., though with Linux the virus/spyware/malware part isn't as necessary as with windows, there are still other things (such as firewall, making sure unnecessary serveses aren't running, making sure file permissions are correct, not running day to day as root etc)

security is not a product it is an ongoing process that must be planned, implemented, tested, and updated as necessary, though for the average Linux desktop this usually isn't much by comparison to a windows machine.

I agree. In fact any technology that has a high market share will be targeted by virus/malware writers. Not only are windows users more targeted over linux users but android and iphone users are heavily targeted as well due to its high market share in the mobile industry.

If you have an android or iphone you definitely need a anti-virus/malware program.

no what one needs on android is to use the SELinux kernel
and to KNOW how to configure it

So, can I clarify a few things I am concluding from the above:-

If I am using Linux and I click on a link in a dodgy website, a virus might download, but it also might not be able to do anything? Unless I transfer the file to another windows system?

Rootkits designed for windows, are typically unable to install/replicate on linux systems?

that is correct, windows has a different API (application program interface) as well as ABI (application BINARY interface than linux for starters,
second, linux has an execute bit that is not set by default when a program is downloaded, it has to be set before linux will allow it to run, this is not fool proof but it helps a lot
thirdly, with Linux you aren't root, so even it it does run, chances are it would only infect your home directory, which is much easier to disinfect than a running operating system.

In addition to all the good advice above, consider using the noscript Firefox plugin to disable scripts by default. You can then enable by exception if you really need to.