Malware and Linux

[fleamailman]

I will be posting on linux since I am on kubuntu and love it, now I am watching with interest Dell's bringing out laptops with preinstalled ubuntu, not that I am ubuntu fan I didn't like the colour, nor did I like having the bin on the desktop, however I admit that it is easier to mount the windows partition in ubuntu than with kubuntu, and now that dell brings out ubuntu while lavano brings out suse perinstalled laptops, I am guessing that these companies have noticed the slight disenchantment toward microsoft and its habbits, especially in respect towards the restaints of it EULA and the never ending malware problems. Linux has no malware, or at least I have never seen any, and one can install it to as many computers as one wishes.

[Orac]

Linux has no malware, or at least I have never seen any

I wish that was true.

Theirs a LOT of Linux malware out their iam afraid, and a number of different AV providers who are now offering AV for Linux PCs.

The vast majority of malware targetted at servers is Linux based (as of course are the majority servers lol).

Iam also aware of some malware that now targets Macs which is of course *nix based.

I would strongly suggest to anyone whos running a PC or lappy with Linux that they treat their security as they would if they were running a windows PC. I.E at least a decent firewall and AV.

Linux Firewall info (http://www.linux.org/apps/all/Networking/Firewalls.html)

Linux AV info (http://www.linux.org/apps/all/System/Anti-Virus.html)

[fleamailman]

thanks for telling me about the malware on linux, I just thought that there wasn't because I had never seen any, nor had anyone posted about malware on the linux boards but a bit of googling turned up something like that compared to thousands of malwares on windows, there are very few on linux: 863 against 11000

http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3601946

However one has to look at other factors too, linux is wider target in that there are many distros and a bit like mixing genes I it must be hard for a malware makers to target many flavors of linux with one type of malware, also the reaction towards malware is different on linux, one does not see users clinging on to their system in the way that some windows users will spend days on malware removel forum with a hjt log, part of this mentality must be the five times windows reactivation problem and not having copies of other programs on windows whereas on linux it is a simple reinstall where one can download any program again. Then another problem for the malware makers is how to deal with someone who is using a live linux CD which does not touch the harddrive. One last point, if linux users are only 2% to mac's 4% of the total market, then the malware makers are not going to have a good return for their time and effort invested in making linux malware. My conclusion, none really save that I do feel safer on linux for the reasons I have mentioned.