With the increase popularity of the linux desktop and the steamdeck, will new viruses and malwares be developed for linux systems? should we better use an antivirus?
Most modern antivirus software is a virus in and of itself.
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I don’t because no antivirus can protect you from yourself, I learned that the hard way while I was still using Windows many years ago.
I had antivirus and antimalware on Windows and I kept them updated and ran scans regularly, almost religiously, than I got a malware that antivirus couldn’t detect (they take a while to be updated with new viruses/malware that constantly come out) and the only way to remove it was a blank new install following a specific procedure to clean it all.
That day I understood that no matter how attentive you are about your antivirus, you’re never really protected until it’s you who learns what to do and what not while accessing the web, so I did a bit of research about how to better configure my PC, how to better recognize phishing/scamming, using adblocker, don’t download random software, stuff like that.
I basically learned “how to behave”. I stopped using antivirus/antimalware on Windows and I didn’t catch a virus since, then I switched to Linux and I still apply the same principles of “good behavior”.
That’s not to say I’m immune to viruses, I’m certainly not, but my mindset now is that if I ever catch a virus, it will be my fault for doing something I shouldn’t have done, and I’ll do my best to learn from it instead of relying on software to do that for me.
- Virus scanners only detect a fraction of the harmful programmes.
- Virus scanners can often be tricked.
- Virus scanners often have security vulnerabilities themselves, which are usually quite serious, since such programmes embed themselves quite deeply in the operating system.
- Virus scanners cause many users to become careless because they rely too much on such tools.
Therefore, from my point of view, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Therefore, I do not have such a tool permanently installed, neither under Linux nor under Windows. However, every 6 months I scan my Windows installation with a USB-bootable virus scanner. No actually harmful programme has been found for years.
In my opinion, the following things are much more important than any security software.
- Install updates as soon as possible. Under Windows, you can use tools like Chocolatey for this.
- Only install software from trustworthy sources.
- Only install software that you really need.
- Only use root or administrator rights if you have to. For everything else, the rights of the user account are sufficient.
- Create backups regularly.
- Think before you act.
Especially the last point is a problem for many users. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve witnessed someone receiving an alleged invoice from mobile provider A by email and opening it, even though they had a contract with provider B.
Run sandboxed software when possible and avoid doing unsafe things.
There is no useful AV for Linux desktops.
No. Not needed for the most part if you aren’t downloading dumb shit on the internet and keeping things up to date.
Nope.
Why
I don’t have wine installed.
Even then, the good old “Reinstall if things feel sluggish” always helps.
I don’t, but that’s because of how I have things setup around the network. While most people here say it’s because they don’t need it, I am in a position that I need SOMETHING simply because others in the household could bring in malware and rather than trust them to make smart decisions, I proactively monitor all network activity for anything unusual. That being said, I have clamAv installed and run a weekly scan, but my real “antivirus solutions” are as follows: A syslog server that’s connected to grafana/MySQL and alerts me based on very specific criteria. Along this, I’ve got my network firewall configured to block all “untrustworthy countries” in and out 100%, as well as use an IDS/IPS (also connected to syslog for alerts). Lastly, an internal DNS which grabs from like 20 sources that include some reliable lists with malware domains and such, and a custom list of my own that I add to as useful security news feeds hit my RSS feed with urls in their blog posts.
Actually got a list of other things going on in the network to make it even more secure, but just wanted to list the main things that’ll give you a step up in the anti-malware front.
None of this is buletproof without proper care for how you use the Internet, though.
- Check for router/modem/firewall updates weekly if they can’t be auto updated
- never click any links in an email even if you feel you know you trust it (exception to this would be something you KNOW is coming into your inbox, such as an account registration verification)
- avoid tiny urls or suspicious looking urls when possible
- don’t open ports unless you really really really know what you’re doing. If you absolutely need to open a port, then for the love of god define the source IP address/CIDR. Opening ports to the world includes opening them to cyber criminals
- turn off upnp, I don’t care what that game or service you use says, it doesn’t need it
You get the idea. My message got way too long and turned into a rant lol.
No, it’s Linux.
I usually haven’t, but I installed Clam about a month ago on my desktop, ran a full and complete scan, then left it running scheduled scans. Hasn’t found anything, and I get a lot of software from outside of my package manager, and use wine for a lot of it, so I’d say my risk/exposure is higher than most.
I think it’s fine to go without AV on a linux desktop, but I like the peace of mind. There will definitely be more things targeting linux sytems as/if more market share is acquired, but in terms of security it’s more important that you harden the system than run an AV.
Anti-virus software is like a condom. If you don’t go sticking your computer in places it doesn’t belong you won’t really need one.
Today I learned what a dickhead my computer is
Personally I don’t use one on any platform because the antivirus companies tend to… Create problems in order to solve them. If you’re going to use one on Linux, ClamAV is probably the play. However, far better for your security is to pick a distro that publishes security patches quickly, like Debian or Arch Linux, and then to update your system frequently
The anti virus industry boomed because of operating systems that were exceptionally vulnerable to attacks. Simply visiting a website could install software. The root cause of this problem isn’t that a user didn’t run third-party software. It’s that the operating system was vulnerable.
After many years of neglect by operating system vendors, there really wasn’t much of a choice in how to be responsible if you insisted on running a vulnerable operating system. Therefore, the industry boomed and it became status quo for users of these operating systems.
Or you could run an OS that regularly fixes vulnerabilities.
plus if your someone that makes malware are you really going to waste time making a linux version of your malware or just stick to the windows version.
This also assumes that Linux is vulnerable the same way that Windows is for the software, which is probably isn’t.
No because I use QubesOS. If I got a virus it would be gone the next time I launched my browser.
This is great and most relevant answer from all comment on this topic imo! Viruses are evolve everyday, hacker always find a way to intercept computer that has same framework system.
QubesOS breaks that framework pattern and make their system more dynamic with VM-ing everything, so the impact of viruses are near-to-zero.
++ QubesOS also provide all security enhanced out of the box SO we can enhanced it more with other security tools rather than start from RAW system like majority Linux OS…
I have just a simple question: Why?
I use it because of the protection it provides.
It works because every time I launch the browser it does so in a Disposable VM. When you close the browser, the VM is deleted. Launch a new browser, and it creates a fresh VM.
What about performance? I have an 8 gb ram machine, so I can’t imagine ever runnign Qubes. What sort of specs would you recommend for trying a system like that?
It depends how many VMs you want to run at once. RAM reqs in Qubes keep pace usually with Windows. You’ll want 16G minimum.
The best antivirus is yourself
whacks you with a rolled up newspaper NO. BAD.
this is only true for users who understand good habits and bad habits, people who understand how their computer is vulnerable and how they are vulnerable, people that know what’s supposed to be on their computer and what it does and why. It’s not true for someone who doesn’t know what they don’t know, or who is only just starting to understand the scope of malware and phishing and other malicious activities.
