Comments on: Does linux or Ubuntu need an antivirus?

By: Anti Virus

Anti Virus — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:56:49 +0000

What would go wrong if linux or Ubuntu use anti virus?

By: benignbacon

benignbacon — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:16:59 +0000

Couldn’t hurt – AVG has a free one for linux.
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By: panjshir L

panjshir L — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:37:59 +0000

Currently there are potentially over 500 different viruses (malware) attacking Linux computers. Technically in the business environment, to meet ITCS300 standards, Linux requires a anti-virus package. Though largely, this is simply a waste of resources as viruses are VERY rare. In my 5+ years of Linux support, I have yet to see malware successfully attack a Linux distro.

A good anti-virus product would be Symantec, I’ve used it a bit and it seems fairly stable. I’ve had issues with the older Trend Micro products as it would cause systems to grind to a halt.

The other reasons why Linux does not get viruses:

* Open Source community act VERY quickly to patch problems.
* Kernel has a firewall built in called IPTABLES
* User accounts are NOT allowed to install things unwittingly
* There is a wall up between systems software and application software.
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By: Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:07:59 +0000

This is just speculation, But personally i believe that most viruses come from people who work for Apple Computer. The reason i think that is because Windows was originally a Apple running system. Microsoft stole the idea from apple and built on it. Apple originally trashed the OS before Microsoft stole the idea. That's why there are so many viruses written that hit this running system only. I will prob switch to linux or Ubuntu eventually. I'm gonna wait and give windows 7 a try first. If it doesn't fix the already troubled Vista running system i know i will.
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By: Kahless

Kahless — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:20:59 +0000

99.66% of all malware written, is written for Windows computers. .04% is written from MacOS x. That leaves the remaining .3% for all the other operating systems (Linux, Unix, Ubuntu, etc.) out there. So the odds are pretty good you don't need anything.
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By: † Oh yeah

† Oh yeah — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:43:59 +0000

No it does not need an antivirus, but having a good firewall is always a smart thing to do.

Go to Add/Remove and look for "Firestarter," it’s an easy way to build-up a firewall on Linux without having to deal with the terminal.

If you want an antivirus anyways, then you can also find "ClamAV" in Add/Remove.
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I use Ubuntu, and have never had any malware problems at all.

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/1820/screenshotxwq.png

By: ankit

ankit — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:58:59 +0000

no linux or ubuntu never needs an antivirus
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By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:11:59 +0000

You don’t NEED one, but it doesn’t hurt to have on either. Also, let’s say you use a flashdrive on someone’s computer and it gets infected with something. If you have an antivirus on your linux machine, you could clean the drive and stop the risk of infecting other machines. Easiest way to set one up?

sudo apt-get install klamav

Enjoy, and best of luck.
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By: Lex Luthors Girl

Lex Luthors Girl — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:02:59 +0000

I’ve already made up my mind. I’ve already pre ordered windows 7. If it doesn’t do better than XP or at least as good as XP, If it doesn’t make my 700 buck HP Vista OS run better, I’m switching them both to linux I’m tired of buggy windows. Mac’s are two costly or i would buy one of those. My HP computer with Vista has been nothing but a pain in the butt. My E machine with XP runs smooth as silk. But microsoft wants to do away with XP. When that happens, If windows 7 act’s like Vista, I know i will be switching.
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By: Unixmen

Unixmen — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:40:59 +0000

The answer is no ………………
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