How to stay safe when opening files from Lime Wire..
 

..I have heard it said that you can't get a virus in Linux...And then i have heard some say it's a very, very slim possibility that you can...
....Regardless, what is the best method for me to remain safe when opening files from Lime Wire?..
I download a lot of music and have just converted to Linux:)..I how do i check the integrity of a file? I mean Lime wire is full of garbage.
Thanks

Dude, there is no threat of getting affected by viruses on Linux. If at all you call these as viruses, these are simple shell scripts. But do not worry man. You are safe on Linux and till you are on Linux.

The safest thing to do it to only open files from sources you trust, not anonymous sites you access from Limewire.

Viruses may not be common in Linux, but there are forms of malware that can infect a system. Some simple precautions:

- Never, ever, ever, ever, EVER do trivial chores as root. The root account should be reserved for doing those things that only root can do.

- Run a file integrity checking system like Aide or Tripwire. It won't prevent problems, but it will tell you what files have been affected.

- Did I say only download from sources you trust?

-Want to be really paranoid? Set up a virtual machine with VMWare or VirtualBox and open files in the virtual machine.

-Make sure you've got backups of your important data so if something does go wrong, you have an avenue for recovery.

-If your suspicious about a file, run a LiveCD distro like Knoppix or one of the *buntus and open it in that. That would pretty much be simpler than a virtual machine with many of the same benefits.

DAVE666,

Security vulnerabilities affect all computer systems, all operating systems and all generaly the electronic devices that are networked. And not only viruses. You can easily (ok, not that easily as in Window$ but still you can) have rootkits, trojans and worms installed remotely from P2P networks. Follow carefully the instructions that Hangdog42 mentions above and make sure that you understand what code you run in your system. Linux is a safer, much safer world (provided it is configured properly, and patched with the latest patches) than the Micro$oft world, but still you can step on landmines.

Systems security is an ongoing process, not a static state!