I've just downloaded a Tar file and have extracted it but how do I get the
program running all I get are a load of file and folders when Iopen up the folder. any help would be
great

tell us what the tar file relates to?

There should be a README which will give you build instructions

can't , you give no context

a tar file is a Tape ARchive
It is just a collection of files , in one handy file ( I think originally developed for Tape Backups, hence the name )

tell us what the tar is ( provide link to the source ) and we may be able to help.

clamav-0.98.1.tar.gz

should be just fine

I don't understand this heres the output

tar: clamav-0.98.1.tar.gz: Cannot open: No such file or directory
tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now

source code for clam anti virus

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you are not going to have much luck compiling that

Please don't take that the wrong way


anyway, if you want to try

However, you should not need to compile it yourself, and for various reasons it is a bad idea

better to install with your distros package manager

ether search for it in ubuntu's Software Center

or on command line

This way, you will get updates



if you are genuinely interested in compiling your own software, than I would recommend looking at "Linux From Scratch"
fair warning, it is a steep learning curve and assumes you have some basics and is very time consuming but very rewarding

I'm confused now,

reading your first post I assumed you had already extracted the archive

Anyway, read my previous post

one last question: I've down loaded programs tar.gz have'nt any success in getting them to run one of them is rkhunter, I've
right clicked and extracted it and got the program but don't know where to go from there seems to have more folders in it
concerning config files and the like.

Hi actinide, typically if you receive a package in the tar.gz format it tends to be source code and you have to build from there. This involves compiling and the program may need some dependencies. If you don't have these then you have some hard work ahead. It is a good way to learn of course.

As firerat points out, the simplest way is to install the package from your distro's repositories. This way the installer looks after the dependencies and provides updates as they are rolled out.

1 members found this post helpful.

Hi timl, What i'm trying to do is get the least version of clamav. I downloaded it from the main site and got the tar.gz, but if
I download it from the mint software center, it's the outdated version. I want the current and up to date version.
The same goes for programs that I downloaded from the main website like rkhunter and chkrootkit.

I think you are downloading source code,


I understand that you may be used to installing software on Windows by downloading from 'random' sites and then double clicking them.


Linux has a different model

your chosen disto maintains a package repository

you ask your package manager ( in the case of ubuntu it is called apt ) via
1 ) GUI , in ubuntu this is called software center
2 ) command line , in ubuntu this is apt-get

to look for a package, and install it
it will periodically update the software for you



an old ( actually, very old ) guide
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ClamAV

synaptic is no longer installed by default on Ubuntu


please read this

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SoftwareCenter

and use that to search for ( and install ) clamav, and the rootkit hunter

Ahh, mint

Mint has synaptic

anyway, sometimes the latest is not always the 'best'
Newer versions may have bugs, either stability or worse security..

Should serious security issues be discovered in your existing version, your disto's maintainer will quickly assess and roll out updates

for this reason it is important that you keep your Disrto up-to-date, using the latest ( LTS ) version
and that you keep the software updated ( the package manager should do most of that for you )

Ok, we'll use clamav as an example. Assuming you downloaded a .tar.gz file (or .tgz as they are sometimes named):

• Type in "tar xvfz <filename>". That will decompress the file and give you the source code directory.
• Look in there for the INSTRUCTIONS. For clamav, the very obvious "INSTALL" file contains the step-by-step instructions you need to follow. The file could also be called README, or some permutation of either of those. In any case, it should be VERY obvious.
• Repeat for any other source packages you have.

A good step would also be checking the documentation:
ClamAV - http://www.clamav.net/lang/en/doc/
RKHunter - http://rkhunter.cvs.sourceforge.net/...r/files/README
Chkrootkit - http://www.chkrootkit.org/README

All of those project have easily found documentation on their websites that tell you how to perform the installation. The man pages for the tar command will tell you how to uncompress things.

Firerat I'm talking about current version, it's not in the respositories. This is getting frustrating.

I just want the updated version of program

if I have to apt-get or from repo