Just a thought now...

I have heard that there are only about 20 viruses for Linux in all time and none of them could survive in the wild. But still, as Linux grows there "must" be at least one virus that CAN survive and can do damage to at least a handfull of boxes.

I am looking for some good info about viruses and spyware for Linux. If they do not exist: can they exist, and if they can, how? If I understand this maby I can controll my own security much more.

btw, the thought of making an attempt to program viruses, spyware and so on has crossed my mind. But why re-invent the wheel if I can just ask here and maby get some information?

Viruses much be run somehow. It's really hard to find a Linux app (I can't name any, in fact) that runs an unknown (just downloaded) script/program without asking user to confirm. That's the main reason because viruses for Linux can be written, but they are not encountred in the real life. The same with spyware: user must run it!