Virus protection in Linux?

[moonlight429]

Well friends,I am thinking to switch over to Linux Mandrake for my newly purchased sophisticated laptop. Regarding it, I want to know whether I have to install any anti virus in my Linux work environment to prevent from malwares and spywares ever increasing day to day . I have to work online for long hours though every day. Though I have heard that Linux is a very secured O/S system, yet I am confirming the same from you. Hoping for quickly reply.

[RobRich]

I have yet to have much of a need for antivirus software under Linux, or well more like BSD in my case, but anyway either platform is relatively resistant to popular attack vectors associated with most high-profile exploits targeting the Windows platform.

If I were to deploy Linux in a mission critical role, such as a server-class system, then I might be more inclined to consider antivirus measures. Otherwise, in a typical PC role, basic Linux security can be shored up decently with a good firewall configuration, regularly checking for software updates, and applying common sense to basic operating procedures like dealing with root accounts and similar fundemental UNIX-style issues. Many modern distributions offer graphical interface utilities to configure such network security parameters.

If you want to occasionally scan a Linux system, then the open source ClamAV project offers a console interface for antivirus scanning.

[SeanC]

I think there's still only a handful of Linux-specific virus isn't there?

The only time you'd need a full AV solution on Linux is if you're running MS Word or Excel under Wine since there are Macro viruses that those file formats can propagate. But then common safety practices (don't open files from unknown sources) can reduce that risk to almost 0%.