ubuntu firewall and av

[ejames82]

hi,

i am new to ubuntu and would like to know about security programs in general.
in windows, a firewall and a real-time residential antivirus is recommended. is this also the case in ubuntu 8.04 hardy heron? we already have firestarter as a firewall and clamav as an antivirus, but don't know how to verify if they are serving their function.
can other av's be installed and ran as on-demand scanners without conflict? how is this done? newbie-newbies here.

[gTinker]

Have a look at this post about security, it will answer a lot of your questions.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=510812

[bodhi.zazen]

See the stickies at the top of this forum. Antivirus is not really a part of Linux security.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/06/linux_vs_windows_viruses/

Threads like this often turn into opinion polls and if you wish that type of a discussion see recurring discussions or any of the many existing antivirus / firewall threads.