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Distribution: Currently: OpenMandriva. Previously: openSUSE, PCLinuxOS, CentOS, among others over the years.
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Originally Posted by mediator_ram
Is antivirus necessary for Linux? Even without antivirus does our data's will be safe or not?
Well, this question has been asked over, and over again.
The short answer is: it depends.
The longer answer is: It depends on your environment, and the risk you are at. In a lot of cases (particularly for desktop Linux), the answer would probably be, no, or probably not. You need to work out what risk (if any) your machine(s) is at of getting a virus to begin with. I do use Sophos Antivirus myself, but it's never found any Linux virus before. But they do exist, just nowhere near as much as Windows viruses do. So you're at a far less risk just by using Linux.
I think more than anything else it's down to user competence.
The data is only as safe as the user is knowledgeable. Your data may be safe on your drive, but get a firewall. Don't open a browser as root. Don't open a browser as root on WINE. Don't share your password online. Don't open an attachment if you don't know who it's from. Don't blindly copy and paste things into your terminal.
I have never had a virus issue on Linux and, I believe, part of the reason that Linux viruses are so uncommon - apart from a lot fewer of them being written - is because Linux users tend to be a lot more technically aware. Adopt some basic understand of how people get viruses rather than relying on a program to do your sweeping up for you.
Last edited by Lysander666; 04-25-2019 at 09:27 AM.
It's not completely impossible to get a virus in Linux. Proof-of-concept viruses have certainly been created. Whether there are any out there in the wild is another question.
Linux is intrinsically more secure because:
a) You do not usually browse the Web or read your email as root. If you do, you're an idiot and deserve what you get!
b) Most viruses and worms are written to execute in a Windows environment and won't work in Linux.
c) Downloads from the Web, even if they are able to run under Linux, don't have the execute bit set by default. You have to set it by hand.
The main risk is that a Linux machine in a mixed network can act as a "Typhoid Mary", picking up viruses without being affected by them and passing them on to machines that run Windows. This could also happen if you exchange MS Office files by email with other users and the files get infected by macro viruses. In such cases, it might be worth installing ClamAV.
If you try to find information on any current "Linux virus" which is both in the wild and less than 10 years old, you're going to struggle.
Security is not about personal virus scanners. The latter is a Windows thing and any AV software for *nix systems is usually targeted at mail servers - to stop malware spreading via attachments, etc.
...designed especially for e-mail scanning on mail gateways
There are something like 50 odd viruses or less specific to Linux and as I've said, the vast majority are old and not actually "in the wild", by contrast there are millions of Windows viruses.
//edit: you should also be wary of the typical "virus industry" purveyors of proprietary anti-virus software which have provided a Linux port. Just because they are 'selling' it, doesn't mean that it's needed - just more snake oil from those who have profited the most from the Windows malware mess.
Distribution: Debian Sid AMD64, Raspbian Wheezy, various VMs
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To be fair, the professional versions of Windows, when configured correctly, did not require much in the way of anti-malware either. The problem was that "easy to use" features were allowed by default.
I fear Android suffers from this also, since most people who use computers prefer ease of use to security. I imagine such idiots living in a wotld where simply giving your name allows you to pay for anything you like. Such is the ignorance of "the common man".
As has been said, servers providing email services should be scanning incoming emails for virii. ClamAV does an excellent job of maintaining virus checks and providing that capability.
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