Treatment of virus in email attachment
 

I've read that it's almost unheard of to have a virus in Linux. If I were to open an email attachment that
contained a virus, what would Linux do? How would it respond? Would Linux display an error message? Would spyware be treated the same way? Also trojan horses, worms, browser hijackers,
etc. Any info would be appreciated.

most virusses today are win32 executables, so these won't do anything on Linux (except maybe you CAN infect your WINE installation :P) trojans and worms are win32 too. so they can't damage your system. But there are virusscanners for linux wich will recognize those virusses and can delete them.

greetz,
.-=~ iluvatar ~=-.

What about boot-sector viruses?

You can find a virus scanner here: http://linux.tucows.com/highlight_A-preview.html

How many boot sector virusses have you seen the last few years?

For me a mail virus under linux is a nuisance. The rare few that manage to slip trough the content checks on my postfix server come in as just a windows attachment. And since I never configured wine to run exe files without asking there really is no problem.

well, it makes sense to scan a samba server where users store windoze files & executables.

another threat: if you get a (win)virus infected email, your linux will laugh at it. But if you forward it without checking the contents, then the recipient could get in truble in case he has windoze...

as to linux: I've never heard about viruses "for" linux. but this is not a proof that they do not exist. If anyone has any experience it would be fine to post it here.

Thanks to everyone for responding. Basically it sounds like there isn't too much to be concerned about but I'll probably stop at tucows and download the scanner just for the sake of having it. Thanks again for your help!

They do exist, but most are 'proof of concept' viruses, written just to show it can be done. All are harmless unless run as root. There was even a competition to write an effective linux virus but no one claimed the prize - if I could find the address I'd post it.

When my flatmate (windows user) got a suspicious pif attachment in an email he forwarded to me (knowing I'm a linux user) so we could have a look at the contents :) I forget what it was now, but I remember thinking "Hehe, immunity!!"