Is linux safe?

Should I be logging in on sites like ebay and bankofamerica on linux? I'm concerned because linux has no protection.

 

Yes.. it's safe.
As far as local security is concerned, it's generally safer because there are very few real threats like viruses that affect linux.
As far as internet security is concerned, the OS really has little control over that. As long as you're on ebay or bankofamerica through an http s (s for secure) connection, you're safe, regardless of the OS (assuming the local security has not been compromised on your end or their end!)

 

I only log in on my bank/shopping accounts under Linux. And i havent had a problem.

 

Yeah, as Kamin says, I'd sooner trust standard linux than Windows no matter how much "protection" it has. Maybe you don't understand exactly what "protection" software means. Anti-malware and such are no better than leaky condoms. They don't remove the liability, and they are useless if no liability exists in the first place.

AV software do exist for linux, but they only search out Windows viruses and are meant to protect Windows clients in linux-based networks.

 

nothing is 100% safe. But there are fewer bad things out there trying to get into linux.

Same reason Mac's are considered safe really. Market share is low, there is really no money to be made in developing malicious software for linux. That's not to say it can not be done, or hasn't been done.

As far as banking and such goes, just make sure you're not on a phishing site when entering information. Check the identity information in your browser before entering any personal information.

and don't click on links and then enter info, go directly to the site.

you do those two things, and you're as safe in windows as you are in Linux for the most part.

Just be smart, be aware, be vigilant and you've nothing to worry about.

 

The impression I am getting is that hardly anyone writes viruses for linux systems, but when and if they do it will become chaos.

 

not really, the architecture of the linux system makes it fairly hard for virus' to spread throughout the system and kernel.

as with all things, it could be done, but at the moment it's WAY more trouble then it's worth.

 

Well, look on the flip side. Linux and its complements are the most heavily developed software. It has tens of thousands of talented bug trackers and contributors. Plus there's the unix core permission system which, while by no means perfect, is a good starting point for stringent and effective security systems. There are plenty of linux security software available now as well. The NSA's SELinux subsystem is a good example.

And as directeuphorium pointed out, the defining characteristic of a virus is spread, and linux's design makes that highly unlikely. Malicious attack methods for linux systems do exist, and if you search hard enough you'll find them. However, those attacks are very specific and must be directed at particular systems. You can't just release them and watch them spread.

 

not necessarily, some of the best programers (and a HUGE community of them) work on the various linux distros. So someone somewhere would find the fix and then it would just be a matter of feeding it up the line until everyone knows about it.

For the seeming chaos that surrounds linux, i've found (in the months i've used it exclusivly) that its amazingly quick to pick up on things that need picking up on.

 

You cannot trust an operating system developed by European communist terrorists.

 

Linux systems do tend to be a little bit more solid than Windows, but there is no OS that can protect against user stupidity. The majority of keeping things secure involves good practises on the part of the user, not the operating system.

 

QFT.