Anti Virus

i heard there are only a few hundred Linux viruses out on the internet, do i get an anti virus like avg or is it safe to say I'm pretty safe?

i heard there are only a few hundred Linux viruses out on the internet, do i get an anti virus like avg or is it safe to say I'm pretty safe?
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To be sure you could use an antivirus program. But when you're never on the net logged in as root you should be pritty save. (viruses for linux can only be realy harmfull when you're logged in as root.)
I use a antivirus program only to check the share windows partitions.

Sander

i heard there are only a few hundred Linux viruses out on the internet, do i get an anti virus like avg or is it safe to say I'm pretty safe?
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i don't even think that there are hundred or more viruses for linux, i think it might be somewhere between 50-70 and most of them are really stupid viruses that can do little to no harm.... the rest Sander above explains it

i heard there are only a few hundred Linux viruses out on the internet, do i get an anti virus like avg or is it safe to say I'm pretty safe?
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If you always operate as user "TheXero" (and not as root), if you keep your SuSE firewall up, and if you don't use any services like ssh, or telnet, etc... then you are pretty safe. If you decide to use a service like ssh, vnc, freenx, then you need to take some extra precautions for security.

Note most Linux security is preventative, and not "after the fact detection", like a lot of anti-virus software.

Because the Linux security structure makes it difficult for a virus to propagate, there are not many virus circulating for Linux. So that statistic of a few hundred is misleading, as most of those have a difficult time replicating themselves, and they are simply not circulating. Most are basically extinct.

A linux user's pc is more at risk to a bot program that hacks in through an open port, than of catching a virus. And compared to Windows, even that risk is small. Very small.

in Linux you should worry much more about rootkits than viruses, get "rkhunter" for that

i heard there are only a few hundred Linux viruses out on the internet, do i get an anti virus like avg or is it safe to say I'm pretty safe?
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Viruses do not run on Linux, at least not like they do in Windows. The "viruses" you have heard about, are actually worms, for the most part and the occasional trojan. Worms are generally targeted at servers. The best way to stay safe is, stay up to date with your software. This will fix the bugs and apply security fixes usually long before the worm is released. I've seen several instances where the fix was released 10 months before the worm.

Generally speaking, you don't need anti virus on Linux. Unless your running a server, or using it to scan your email before sending it on, then there is really little use for anti virus in Linux.

Even if a "virus" did get in, and did operate, it would only affect the at the level which it was opened (this is a great example of why you do not want to be running as root). If your operating under the user bobyjoe, and open a virus, and manage to get the virus working in Linux, then all it would do is affect bobyjoes account. Most "viruses" are Windows exe's, which simply don't run natively in Linux. You'd need wine to even open it, in which case it would affect the wine environment.

There have been many threads on this subject, please take the time to read the threads, as none of the answers posted in this thread will be any different from the previous threads.

Because the Linux security structure makes it difficult for a virus to propagate, there are not many virus circulating for Linux. So that statistic of a few hundred is misleading, as most of those have a difficult time replicating themselves, and they are simply not circulating. Most are basically extinct.


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The way they get "several hundred" is the variants from the same "virus". If you figure in virus.a and virus.b and virus.c, then that's 3 for 1 virus. This is partially why it's hard to count how many viruses there are in Linux. Microchips count is closer. Last I knew, it was around 40 or so. But all these figures are from Linux's inception in 1991. So ~40 original viruses since 1991. Not bad if you ask me.

hmm i didn't realise linux was soo targeted most of what i have running is the default so is it safe to say i don't need to do anything?

hmm i didn't realise linux was soo targeted most of what i have running is the default so is it safe to say i don't need to do anything?
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as microchip said. use rkhunter and you pretty safe.

sander

hmm i didn't realise linux was soo targeted most of what i have running is the default so is it safe to say i don't need to do anything?
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linux isn't targeted as much as windows is, most viruses are written for windows so please read what we post... and yes you are safe running the default stuff without virus scanner. I run linux for 7 years now and i never had a Linux worm, virus, rootkit, trojan or whatever on my system but i do get a few Windows viruses a month by mail - I've started a Windows virus collection here

hmm i didn't realise linux was soo targeted most of what i have running is the default so is it safe to say i don't need to do anything?[/b]

Yes and no. Yes if you are following common sense Linux precautions. No if you are not.

One needs to follow some basic common sense guides noted above.

Do not operate as root. Maintain a firewall. If you use services such as ssh, telenet, freenx (like many of us) add some extra precautions. And if you are real paranoid, add extra precautions such as a root kit hunter.