Ubuntu 12.04 Antivirus & Firewall Do i need them!

[cariboo]

This topic has been discussed so many times, it's now a recurring discussion. Moved.

[deadflowr]

Hi I recently Installed Ubuntu 12.04 i just want to know if i need Antivirus & a Firewall. Or is ubuntu 12.04 secure already as it is. And if not what are the best antivirus and firewall for ubuntu.

No. You don't need a firewall or anti-virus.
But they're nice to have.
Ubuntu comes with a firewall, ufw, a command line program to control a firewall.

There are various anti-virus programs you can run, starting with clam and also ones from avg, avast, and bitdefender among others.

[craig10x]

Download gufw fron the software center and just turn it on...ports are closed by default on the linux firewall but turning gufw on makes you more "stealth" (invisible)...
As far as anti virus scanners, only if you need to protect any windows user against something you might send him...linux doesn't respond to windows viruses....of course, most windows users use anti-virus so they should be protected on their end anyway...that's why i never bother with that...just turn on the firewall and i am done...

[BR8]

If you go to a lot of shady sites and download anything you see, then yes, it's probably a good idea. If you have a good idea who made the package you're installing, probably not. They're nice to have, especially if you have any sort of paranoia.

[NormanFLinux]

On Linux and Mac OSX, the only thing you need to do is set up the firewall.

There is no need to run AV since viruses and trojans are seldom written for these operating systems.