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?
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.
I don’t use antivirus on Windows, let alone Linux. Just be mindful of what you’re downloading and you’ll be fine.
Same here. Ever since I remember I don’t have AV, just staying out of sketchy sites is enough. Most of malware is targeted at the least aware and cautious users.
Run sandboxed software when possible and avoid doing unsafe things.
There is no useful AV for Linux desktops.
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.
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You dont need an antivirus if you don’t run software from unknown sources, and you keep your machine up to date.
For the most part, if you do all that and you’re still attacked, they would probably get past an antivirus, anyways. I’ve never had an antivirus catch anything after decades of running Windows.
A bit thing to note for people running home servers is to watch what they expose to the internet. Insecure software and insecure configurations are huge targets for botnets these days.
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No I don’t use an antivirus because I don’t download and run untrusted programs or scripts from the internet.
I do have some block lists on my firewall that block a lot of malware, phishing, and scammer sites though.Properly educating the users is far more effective than any anti virus software.
No. That would defeat the purpose of me installing Linux in (old) laptops. Windows feels sluggish enough with a sea of bad things wanting your minimum wage and have Windows Defender prevent it but not all of it, obviously.
I put all my attention to prevention and set strict rules on the router. It can be as simple as setting the DNS to stuff like dnsforge.de or DIY it with PiHole with hosts lists of your hearts content that update itself weekly, I do the latter. Nothing beats a cross platform solution that protects every device in the network, if you’re after 100% performance. Of course you can still catch bad things, such as social engineering by email that happened over at Linus Tech Tips. You better stay vigilant no matter what solution you use and don’t sleep on making backups, which can be as simple and automated when you use Syncthing for example.
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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.
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 pay for Dr Web for Linux and Android because I like the idea that I’m supporting white hat hackers find malware. Do I think I need it? No.
