do i have to use an antivirus

[joni]

Hello...! everyone

I'm a new user of Linux and i blame myself for
not trying it before. This is a great OS
However i'm a bit warried
about security stuff. Do i need to install some
kind of antivirus software expecially to protect
my system from emails...?
By the the way my firewall is properly installed and
working.

I would be very greatfull to anybody who answers.

[reed9]

If you are networked with windows computers, it can be a good idea to run antivirus to avoid accidentally passing something to them

But otherwise, you probably do not. I don't and I know many linux folks do not. (A firewall, however, is essential.)

More important is to maintain good practices. Make sure you're installing security updates promptly when they are released by your distro. Be wary of downloading packages from outside your distros official repositories. Don't blindly enter your password when asked. Don't unnecessarily run as root.

Linux malware - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Best Linux Security Tools

[hazel]

But otherwise, you probably do not. I don't and I know many linux folks do not. (A firewall, however, is essential.)

Is a firewall really essential if you aren't running any kind of server?

[elija]

Only if you are connected to the internet

[scathefire]

I don't use AV. But hey that's just me. If you are going to run it though, there are couple out there.

AVG Free - Download installation files & documentation
Clam AntiVirus

ClamAV should be installable via your package/source tree.

[oz]

Welcome to the forums!

You might want to read over this short guide to security, then decide for yourself whether or not you will want or need any security applications:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/lin...-security.html

I've never run any antivirus applications under Linux during the 10 years that I've been using it, but some do choose to run them.

Best of luck to you and your Linux system, either way.

[hazel]

Only if you are connected to the internet

Ha, ha! But seriously, I know you need a firewall if you run a web-server or accept remote logins. But the only server running on my system is xorg. The only users with login rights are me and root and both have strong passwords. So how is anyone going to break in?

I note from following the links in this thread that Ozar was willing to do without a firewall for a time, and what's good enough for a moderator is surely good enough for me.

[elija]

Ha, ha! But seriously, I know you need a firewall if you run a web-server or accept remote logins. But the only server running on my system is xorg. The only users with login rights are me and root and both have strong passwords. So how is anyone going to break in?

I note from following the links in this thread that Ozar was willing to do without a firewall for a time, and what's good enough for a moderator is surely good enough for me.

Well, bugs and vulnerabilities are being created, found, exploited and fixed all the time, so who's to say what is secure? I don't think that you can be too paranoid when hooked up to the Internet as they really are out to get you (TM)

The best security is multi-layered.

Mine has the following.

Layer 1: A hardware (SPI + NAT) firewall between my network and the Internet
Layer 2: Linux (patched and up to date). No Windows boxes on my network
Layer 3: Each box has it's own software firewall that allows in and out what is needed and only that!
Layer 4: Rootkit hunter and virus scanner.

Now, there are exploits that will punch right on through that, for example the PDF Ghostnet, but realistically those kind of attacks will usually be aimed at governments and corporations. There is also social engineering which attacks the carbon interface and is successful depressingly often.

Of course there could be a sequence of bugs or vulnerabilities in my hardware and software that allows anyone through but it hasn't happened yet...

Well not as far as I know anyway

[hazel]

Well I definitely don't want to go down that path. It would take all the fun out of computing. I think I'd rather just take my chances.