anti-virus program

[Brutus Blutoski]

when using Ubuntu as your only operationg system I read somewhere a while back that you didn't need an anti virus package like you do with windows.......I have to admit this doesn't make sense to me........

Do I need to get an anti-virus program and install it on my machine.......if not....why not.......

if I do need one, which one should I get....are there some free ones that are good packages to get (download)

probably should sign this post "thick as a brick" but learning

[Frogs Hair]

While Windows executable viruses won't run in Linux you can pass them to a windows machine via files. There are Linux viruses and root kits in the wild but alot fewer by comparison to Windows. Internet browsers share non virus vulnerabilities regardless of platform. See the stickies at the link. http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=338

More about security: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BasicSecurity

[CharlesA]

While Windows executable viruses won't run in Linux you can pass them to a windows machine via files. There are Linux viruses and root kits in the wild but alot fewer by comparison to Windows. Internet browsers share non virus vulnerabilities regardless of platform. See the stickies at the link. http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=338

More about security: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BasicSecurity

This pretty much covered it.

I just let Windows machines scan for Windows viruses.

[MadmanRB]

As mentioned an antivirus is not needed in linux, it is safe from such matters as it uses a different codebase then windows thus making windows viruses useless.

[fdrake]

you do not need an anitvirus, but you need to know what your are doing at a basic level at least.

[Baldrick_NZ]

i just let windows machines scan for windows viruses.

+1

[Lisiano]

... As long as you don't try running a virus from Wine.
You don't need an antivirus if:

• You don't share files with Windows users (Or don't care about their safety)
• You don't run untrusted Windows executables with Wine

You do need an antivirus if:

• You care about Windows user safety
• You run random Windows executables using Wine

Truth be told, Linux antivirus that do exist (ClamAV, Kaspersky, Avast!, ESET, etc) check for Windows viruses, as such they are useless for almost every Linux user.

[CharlesA]

Nice catch with the wine thing, Lisiano.

I don't touch wine, so that's not a problem for me.

[fdrake]

... As long as you don't try running a virus from Wine.
You don't need an antivirus if:

• You don't share files with Windows users (Or don't care about their safety)
• You don't run untrusted Windows executables with Wine

You do need an antivirus if:

• You care about Windows user safety
• You run random Windows executables using Wine

Truth be told, Linux antivirus that do exist (ClamAV, Kaspersky, Avast!, ESET, etc) check for Windows viruses, as such they are useless for almost every Linux user.

that's a good point but, if you install wine in ~/.wine you shoul not have serious problems. If instead you have compiled it into /root/.wine than you are playing with fire.
it all depends how you install/run a program, same thing goes for all apps. you could open an untrusted file with "sudo vim file " and that file would have #shell right the way.

[Lisiano]

Regardless where you keep your Wine prefix, it can still access your /home and / with whatever permissions your user has, so a Windows based virus designed to steal passwords, could scan every folder from Wine C: and land into C:\Users\Username which would translate to /home/Username, where it can get inside ~/.config/{chromium,Empathy,google-chrome,*}, ~/.{purple,mozilla,*} and other folders and if the virus is smart enough, notice that the folder structures are that of Chrome, Firefox, Empathy, Pidgin, * and grab the database files or plaintext passwords in plaintext files (Looking at you Pidgin).
Right... Basically don't install Wine.