Do we need Antispyware in Linux?
 

Need or not?

so far, NO...

but you might wanna scan your box for rootkits:

http://www.rootkit.nl/

http://www.chkrootkit.org/

I, for one, would like to see something that at least removes unwanted cookies, a la Ad-Aware

firefox let's you make it so that the unwanted cookies don't get on your box in the first place - hence no need to remove them... ;)

I'm using Firefox, and as far as I can see it's an all-or-nothing affair, just as it is in M$IE. How do I reject only the cookies I don't want without having to do it manually on a site-by-site basis? That's a major PITA, as well as a nonsensical waste of time, especially if I can just run an app that cleans up after me.

Ad-Aware and Virus is not yet an issue, but I would take steps now. Programs should not be executable from /home /tmp and /var

I use mount to secure /home /tmp and /var

/dev/sdc1 on /home type reiser4 (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,noatime)

/mnt/var.img on /var type reiser4 (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,noatime,loop=/dev/loop0)

/tmp -> /var/tmp.tmp

Now system is harder to infect.

well, instead of doing the "default permit" you could simply block all cookies, then allow only cookies from sites you trust, for example... or you could allow all cookies as long as they are from the originating website, etc. you can also configure firefox so that when you close it all your cookies are destroyed...

If there is anyone say that anti-spyware is nescessary, please answer these questions.
- List some spyware on Linux.
- Since a lot of software have problem of running on different distro, how can thes spyware run on your distro?
- And where can you find an reliable anti-spyware? why do you know that it is not a spyware?

i don't think anyone said that... unless you are talking about windows of course...

Quote:

- List some spyware on Linux.

currently i don't know of any, but that doesn't mean there isn't any...

Quote:

- Since a lot of software have problem of running on different distro, how can thes spyware run on your distro?

the same way that java applets run on any distro, or the same way the nvidia installer runs on any distro, etc... the variety of distros helps against exploits and stuff because not all distros will be affected by the same vulnerabilities, but don't confuse that with something like "spyware would need to be distro-specific" because it really wouldn't...

Quote:

- And where can you find an reliable anti-spyware?

right now you can't find a reliable anti-spyware for linux because spyware isn't currently a problem on linux... if it becomes a problem, then you will see anti-spyware solutions for linux... i would imagine that, for example, the clamav engine would be updated with spyware definitions so that you could scan your box with clamav and pick-up spyware...

Quote:

why do you know that it is not a spyware?

if you have doubts about a certain piece of software containing spyware then perhaps you shouldn't be installing that piece of software in the first place... :)

but yeah, it would be cool to have a scanner which would tell you if a package contains spyware (or any other type of malware) prior to installing it... say maybe i download the limewire rpm and i run it through the scanner... maybe some red flags would pop-up... who knows... OTOH, having access to a package's source code pretty much invalidates any spyware, as i think for something to be spyware it would need to be hidden, but if they are showing you the source code then it's NOT hidden... which brings us back to square one: TRUST. only install software you trust, don't use your linux box like a windows box doing installs of everything in sight...

if it is that big an issue to you use only open apps and creat a script to grep the code for bad evil code.

i think that's actually a very good concept... like, a tool which you can scan source code with and spot not only spyware and trojans but also unintentional security bugs (buffer overflow, etc.) and stuff like that... in fact, i'd be surprised if there isn't such a tool already... either way, telling some of us to "create a script to grep for evil code" is kinda like telling a caveman to "create a screenplay for a movie based on the CSI tv series"... :D

TigerLinux, I have noticed that a good number of your posts ask questions which have been answered on these boards over and over again. Search before posting please.

If you really want to install an anti-spyware program in Linux, Ad-Aware does work in wine, but keep in mind it only searches for win32 spyware (linux spyware doesn't exist and win32 spyware can't infect linux). And if you do this tell it to not do a memory scan as it hangs when doing that. The only reason I have done this is because I help friends who have winxp machines. I can boot their machines in safe mode, connect it to my laptop with a crossover, smbmount their infected drive and scan it from my laptop

saying that there isn't any linux spyware is a little far-fetched IMHO... i think if you apply the typical windows user's "download and install all kindsa crap" mentality to linux (specially on those point and click look at me i'm root distros) you will end-up with some kinda spyware... granted, i can't prove this - just as you can't prove there's no linux spyware...

Why do people still get their panties in a bunch over cookies, especially since every browser on the planet except IE allows you to closely control and monitor where cookies are originating?

I let my browsers accept all cookies. Why? They cannot execute code. (Good) Browsers limit how sites can access cookies. So I might be targeted with more relevant ads. Good. I will see fewer ads for icky stuff, and more ads for tech stuff and mainstream movies, since I use the web mainly for technical info and reading IMDB. Big fookin' deal, advertisers can cater more closely to stuff I might actually consider buying. Also, sites will be able to maintain a session state better. Real scary stuff there! ;)


http://www.cookiecentral.com/
http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/c/cookie.html

Yeah. Scary stuff indeed. Ever hear of chicken little?

AntiSpyware is not required. I'd be more worried about rootkits. Download chkrootkit, rkhunter, and other rootkit detection scripts. Quit worrying about cookies. They're harmless.