how to find and remove adwares?

[arnab_das]

how to find and remove adwares/spyware on ubuntu?

[P4man]

very tricky indeed. I dont think anyone has ever found any lol.
Its possible in theory of course, but in reality spy/spam/malware is not a problem in linux. You download your stuff from signed repositories and/or places like sourceforge where the source code is available. Spyware doesnt stand much of a chance surviving in such an environment.

Im not aware of any spyware removal tools for linux, but then im not aware of any spy/ad/malware programs either. you might have to search harder for the latter than the former ;)

[Grenage]

If Linux ever really took off, I don't see any reason why such things couldn't exist in some form. I imagine that a large chunk of users will run almost anything with root rights if the app tells them to.

For now, nothing to worry about.

[P4man]

If Linux ever really took off, I don't see any reason why such things couldn't exist in some form. I imagine that a large chunk of users will run almost anything with root rights if the app tells them to.

The problem here is not permissions, its how you typically install stuff. 95% of the software is downloaded through repositories, these things are managed, built from source, checked and frequently rebuilt as new versions come out. Most of the rest is compiled from source by the end user. Where are you going to hide your malware? How will you distribute it?

You'd have to obfuscate the source and trick all PPA maintainers into believing the app is valid. Or infect the binary of a valid app which will cause the signature verification to fail. Or you'd have to hack the PPA and modify the source of a valid app and then it will take perhaps 2 days before someone spots it.

Agreed its not impossible, but its like with biological virusses. If reproduction rate < death rate the virus dies out. In a world of managed PPA's and open source code, its gonna be really hard to make something that reproduces faster than its discovered and squashed.

[Grenage]

Oh I agree, and it's unlikely that the repositories would be compromised, but I for one install a lot of software that isn't in them. Whether a user is looking for some 5-year old dependency or a fun-looking game, you have a vector.

[SunnyRabbiera]

you really dont need it, most adware is made for windows.
Not saying it cant happen but you really dont need tin foil hats in linux

[xpod]

Re: how to find and remove adwares?

Locate the relevant partition and get rid of the infected Windows dual-boot.;)

[pwnst*r]

easy. get rid of the user. it's all about habits.

[JBAlaska]

locate the relevant partition and get rid of the infected windows dual-boot.;)

+1