LINUX AND ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

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This last post could easily be misinterpreted because
of some vague and ambiguous statements.  The simple
truth is that unless you are a system administrator
running a linux based mail-server gateway to a network
of M$-Windoze machines, and know exactly why you are
running antivirus software on your linux mail-server,
you are wasting your time running anti-virus software,
period.

There are, for any practical purpose, no true viruses
for linux (the few that have been demonstrated are
mostly theoretical, because they can't reproduce well
enough to be a practical threat).

Subscribe to your distribution's announce mailing list,
and keep up with the free security updates that they
post about, so that you will not have vulnerabilities
on your system to non-virus network attacks and
exploits (the type of bugs that show up on all
operating systems).  But don't worry about self
replicating and propagating viruses, email or
otherwise.

If you want to know more about trojan horses, internet
and email worms, and the like, and the technical
details of such, and any debates about the proper
terminology, risk factors, etc, subscribe to one of the
many security related newsgroups and mailing lists.

Also, there is a linux Security HOWTO.

LCR

On Mon, 20 Jan 2003, Christian Schoepplein wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 20, 2003 at 06:42:41 -0000, Michael
> Weaver wrote:
> > If I were to purchase a PC running only Linux,
> > should I still have anti-virus software as I have
> > heard that you don't get as many Virus attacks
> > under Linux?
> 
> Yes, its right that there aren't many viruses for
> linux till now. But depending on the services running
> on your linux-pc scanning for viruses makes sence. I
> get very ofthen emailworms for example so I decided
> to filter my mails for viruses, allthough the worms
> aren't dangeros on my linux-pc. Also I have ofthen to
> send files that I got via mail to other people. Maybe
> one of this files contains a virus..., if I don't
> scan this files I could distribute a virus allthough
> I work under linux.
> 
> > If so which software is easy to install with speech
> > and easy to operate for example when updating the
> > Virus definitions?
> 
> I made good experiences with antivir and f-prot, both
> scanners work on linuxsystems:
> 
> http://www.antivir.com http://www.complex.is
> 
> Especialy antivir has a good autoupdating-function. A
> good interface to scan incomming and outgoing emails
> is amavis, it works with sendmail and postfix and
> f-prot or antivir can be used as virusscanners:
> 
> http://amavis.org
> 
> Ciao, Schoeppi
> 
> 

-- 
L. C. Robinson
reply to no_spam+munged_lcr@onewest.net.invalid

People buy MicroShaft for compatibility, but get incompatibility and
instability instead.  This is award winning "innovation".  Find
out how MS holds your data hostage with "The *Lens*"; see
"CyberSnare" at http://www.netaction.org/msoft/cybersnare.html





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