Operating Systems > Linux and UNIX

Linux and Antivirus software

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Duneatreides:
Does Linux (any distro) need antivirus software? How about anti spyware, adware, malware ? I have been thinking about switching to Linux, and I am interested in SuSE 9.2 Pro. What are some opinions of SuSE?

MrX:
beos has none of the above.

Mr X

Orethrius:

--- Quote from: Duneatreides ---Does Linux (any distro) need antivirus software? How about anti spyware, adware, malware ? I have been thinking about switching to Linux, and I am interested in SuSE 9.2 Pro. What are some opinions of SuSE?
--- End quote ---


This is quite a tricky question.  No, at the current time, Linux is not in HUGE need of anti-malware programs.  It has not enjoyed the publicity of Windows - and, as such, is compromised much less frequently.  On the other hand, it can never hurt to be prepared for the eventuality that somebody DOES exploit a root hole before it gets patched (which is also why it pays to stay up-to-date).

Linux has a few key programs available to help with this.  You can use cron (included with most distros) to schedule a chkrootkit job on your system, and it may pay-off to scan higher-profile systems with BitDefender Linux for virii once every week or sooner.

In reply to the last question, SuSE is a decent distribution, but hardly the absolute best.  That honour lies either with one of the BSDs or Debian, but nobody has decided for sure yet.  As far as I'm concerned, each user has to pick the distro that's right for them.  I have found satisfaction running Slack 10 with a Fluxbox frontend, others have found Fedora Core 3 - some of the RedHat users having elected to stay with the stable RedHat 9 - a straightforward system, and still others have switched to BSD, Be, and other alternative OSes.  The choice is yours.

Oh, and X, the lack of malware detection for an OS does not - and should not - indicate the lack of presence of malware for that system.  Just so you're awake when the next Sasser blasts Linux, Be, and Amiga too.  ;)

tux4me:
I am new to linux and could you explain how it is that linux does not get infected with spyware? out of habit being a windows user I am naturally paranoid while surfing the web even on linux windows can pick up several pieces of spyware just from one web surfing session and some are very hard to remove if not impossible this even happens when using a firefox browser so why does this not happen with linux????Is this the difference in the file system or with the firewall????

Kintaro:
For a program to become executable on Linux, YOU have to make it that way. Windows however uses fileextensions like .exe .scr .com and others.

If your worried about cookies and junk you can set up a squid proxy with adzapper.

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