[NTLUG:Discuss] F-PROT?

[John K. Taber]

On Thu, 2007-05-31 at 20:17 -0500, Sally Welch wrote:
> On 5/31/07, John K. Taber <jktaber at charter.net> wrote:
> >
> > Thanks, folks.
> >
> > I'm trying F-PROT for anti-virus mainly because I'm familiar with it,
> > and it is free for an individual user. ClamAV seems to be better known
> > for Linux, so I will look at it too.
> >
> > John
> >
> >
> >
> Hi John,
> 
> Is this a stand-alone computer?   I don't know anyone who runs a 'Linux
> anti-virus' program.  It wouldn't have anything to protect against.  It's
> important to keep your Linux computer patched, however.  And be careful what
> programs you install/run.
> 
> People usually load anti-virus programs on their Linux servers with Windows
> clients attached, to protect the Windows clients.
> 
> A Linux anti-virus program is a waste of resources, in my opinion.
> 
> HTH,
> Sally

Yes, it's a standalone.

Let us agree to disagree on this point.

My thinking is that Linux protection is presently by obscurity in that
there are few viruses targeting Linux machines because there are far
more Windows machines (and naive Windows users) than for Linux.

Generally speaking, protection by obscurity is very weak. There are
security holes in Linux. I just updated Firefox and Thunderbird with
security updates that fixed serious holes. 

Linux is arguably a better operating system than Windows, but it is not
inherently safe. Any system connected to the internet may be penetrated
with malware.

I'm moving to Linux from Windows. Eventually, Linux users will be
targeted, especially for Trojan horses. Estonia's internet was almost
brought to its knees in a concerted attack by zombie machines. It isn't
clear that there were no Linux zombies in that attack, and I would bet
there were.

If Linux users don't protect from viruses, their machines become weak
points for criminals and governments to exploit, and I'm betting that
there is, or will be, exploitation of our overconfidence.

I'm just preparing for a complete move from Windows to Linux.

Cheers,
John