Linux REALLY has no viruses and such?

Well i was reading http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm article that i found in Bog's signature and it repeatly claimed that Linux has no viruses.

So excuse my ignorance about Linux please, but does it really have no viruses? I understand that it might be another Mac-type issue that there arent a lot of viruses since the user base is smaller then windows, but the article explicitly stated no viruses, not that there is not very many viruses.

I have some free time on my hands and was thinking about maybe trying out Linux so im just trying to gather info on it and such.

Thx!

EDIT: Also when i go to the ubuntu download page, it asked me to chose between the standard personal computer option and the 64 bit option. The thing is, I am only running x86 on my laptop right now, since that is what came preinstalled, but im pretty sure my laptop can support 64 bit. So any suggestions which one to chose? Does it matter? Is it similar to the 32-64 bit difference of windows or radically different issue since its concerning ubuntu?

 

It is just a matter of time. Virus makers usually exploit the most used platform so their virus performs its tasks on the largest amount of computers possible.

One of the things with Macs is that they have always had viruses (Systems 9 and below) but that stopped when Apple switched the core engine of the OS in OS X, so older Mac viruses didn't work on the new OS.

It is until now that OSX is gaining notoriety that it is now being targeted by virus and malware makers.

And yes, there are hackers now working into making malware that affects Firefox too.

 

I find it hard to believe that a virus can't be written to corrupt or manipulate a machine on any operating system.

The thing about Linux is first that since it is generally open source, there are a lot of linux gurus sifting through it and finding security holes faster than Windows techs. Also, the nature of linux provides the benefit of requiring root privileges to manipulate almost anything on your system. So a virus wouldn't be able to install itself, as it doesn't have root access.

This wikipedia article shows that linux viruses and general malware has existed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_computer_viruses

The difference between Windows & Linux users ability to get viruses is this (in my opinion):

-A responsible Windows owner who takes reasonable precautions against virus and other threats can still get the occasional virus.

-A Linux owner who takes the same responsible precautions is likely to never get a virus.

So although a virus absolutely can infect linux, if you are responsible, it likely never will .

(I'm a newbie to Linux, however this is how it was explained to me by my Linux-loving colleagues .)

 

Well, the design of linux is as such that a program cant access system files with out root(admins) permission, and password, thus eliminating viruses(mostly).

As for 32 or 64 Bit, I'm on 64 bit now, and its great, its even easier then Windows 64 bit, IMO.
EDIT: And also, linux users tend to be more computer literate and surf smarter.

 

There are Linux Viruses, such as Bliss (a 'kind' virus that lets you disinfect the files individually via the console), just there are not as many of them as Windows Viruses and they are old, and most of them were made to attack a specific target, but some of them are / were really destructive, even more than most of Windows Viruses. There is a partial list of Linux Viruses, even though the total number exceeds the 863 Viruses:

Partial list of Linux viruses.

And as stated above by Gregory and Thomas, Linux is a hostile enviroment for viruses since there are several layers of security the virus must break through (including the user, which most of the times, tends to be computer-literate, as stated by them too), unlike Windows, where all of the accounts in the Operating System are 'Administrator / Root' for default, which is a mortal flaw, and the reason why Linspire (A Linux made to look like Windows) is not as safe as other Linux Distro's, what is the point in having a Linux Box if you are as unsafe as if you were using a Windows Box?

 

The only reason why Windows has more viruses is because of its userbase. If Linux and MAC had as much users, they would be crawling with viruses too

 

That's incorrect. The permissions philosophy in Unix-based operating systems makes it much more difficult for a virus to install itself. The user has to explicitly give permission to the virus to install itself before it can do so.

 

Mmmmh they will just use social engineering: Windows(increasingly) and *nix users know that nothing is secure and do things to a least have a basic protection layer around their pc, whereas Mac users(the smug ones anyway) think that their os is the holy grail and will be a target of choice if virus makers seriously decide to target macs, it will be interesting to watch.

 

I don't know... I kind of agree with JCMS (contrary to my previous post) . If Linux were to have the same number of users, there would be more motivation for virus makers to figure out methods of releasing the virus for a linux OS.

I'm sure there are hackers smart enough to figure out a method, if they had the motivation.... However I think the linux gurus would squish the threats pretty quickly, as they tend to work faster and take more care then Windows programmers do.

It's all moot anyway, as in the near future I don't see linux defeating Windows.

 

There are already people targeting Macs. That exploit can be used on any Mac running Mac OS 10.5.3 or lower. It allows you to escalate your privileges from a regular user to root. That is a huge security hole.

There is plenty of motivation to find ways to hack Linux, as it has a very large share of the server market. Whereas gaining control of others' desktops provides the hackers with botnets for spam and DDOS, hacking a server would give them data that could be extremely valuable. And since Linux is not UI-dependent, any of the hacks found for servers would apply to the desktop as well. But this does not happen very often, or [insert popular website] would be down all the time. There are definitely security problems with Linux as well, though.

 

The information everyone has provided so far is very accurate and true as to why Linux doesn't get any viruses, but one reason Linux has no viruses that is not covered and is very important is described in this article.

 

If Linux was maintream, there would be a lot of non computer-litterate users. Advanced users on Windows are not the ones getting viruses .

 

The viruses and all the spyware/adware stuff is made with one primary purpose: to get to as much users as they can, so all this stuff is mainly for windows. Yeah there are viruses and hacks for linux too(I suppose), but the targets(most of them) are windows machines. So ok, maybe not 100% virus free, but like 90%...yeah why not.

 

Well im gunna try ubuntu and openSUSE via liveCD to see how they go.
im gunna use the 64 bit ones for both.
wish me luck =D

 

Let me know how it works out Lakjin, I just got the same laptop as you and have been itching to learn Linux

 

well right now im running from livecd (posting while on linux, ubuntu). Everything seems pretty easy to use atm. first order of business i have to figure out how to disable the damn touchpad. then ima try to figure out how to get compriz to work, which is the real reason i wanna switch to linux XD

also im trying to find that thread on how hard drives might die prematurely on linux...i want to check mine

 

Compiz wont work in the Live CD, you need to install ubuntu, install drivers, and install Compiz.
I recommend Linux Mint though.

 

I'm not sure why you want to disable it... But if you disable the touchpad in the BIOS then the Linux CD probably won't load it.

 

I disabled my with the FN+F7 combo..no problem

 

okay ill check out linux mint, kubuntu, and openSESN or w/e its called.

 

Alright I am downloading Ubuntu as we speak.

 

Lakjin, did you do a dual boot?

 

no i used liveCD. dont need to dual boot or install. just download iso, burn to a CD, reboot computer.

 

Oh you are running it from the CD. I am gonna go dual boot.

 

This is the link to test your HD in Ubuntu. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=795327
But if you are only running the LiveCD this is not an issue plus you will not be able to run Compiz.

 

Nah you dont even need dual boot. Just install ubuntu inside of vista/xp or whatever windows system you are using. Use the thing called Wubi. It actually works pretty well.

 

Alright so basically running Linux from Windows. I may run with this for a while to decide which I like the best.

 

That is a ridiculous line of thinking; it *assumes* that the design of a Linux system is just as inferior as that of Windows. However, nothing could be further from the truth. See the Linux Advocacy thread for some of my own explanations, or explore the links posted in this thread for a clearer picture.

 

but wouldnt that take up a lot of resources?

mmm well so far iv tried linux mint, ubuntu and opensuse. i think im gunna decide between ubuntu and opensuse, i just dont like how linux mint looks. any suggestions? ubuntu seems faster, but then again i cant really judge properly since i am loading both from cds right now.

 

Only virus I've had on linux is "Vista", it's wasting half of my hard disk.....lol

 

wubi worked like a charm...on ubuntu as we speak. now i just gotta figure out whats what.

 

Well I got wubi installed with Ubuntu, now I am working on getting everything working including compiz. Lak were you able to get your screen hotkeys for brightness to work? Mine is on full high and I am going blind, lol. I can't find a hardware setting for it either.

 

so I don't need an anti-virus program from Ubuntu?

 

No, unless you share files with windows.

 

It doesn't *actually* run inside of windows.

It runs in a partition. It's a bit beyond my explaining capabilities, but it seemingly runs without ever booting Windows.

 

It runs in a looped partition mounted on your Windows partition. Not a bad solution, but you'll lose some disk speed and hibernation. Plus, pray you don't bork up your Windows install, or else Ubuntu will be gone too.

If you can, install Ubuntu the regular way.

 

No....but enable a firewall....Mandriva comes with a firewall wizard in MCC, but Firestarter for Ubuntu or GuardDog for Kubuntu will work as it's a front end to iptables which is built in and let's you pick and choose (easily) what access you grant.

 

I've got a wubi Ubuntu installed and I am liking it. Should I step up to a regular install.

 

There were users with malicious intent when giving out commands when people asked for help on their Linux machines. I remember reading a sticky on the Ubuntu forums that they had people giving out commands that would delete a bunch of files within their OS when they ran the command. Since people would tend to copy and paste the commands into their shell, they got away with having them run some pretty shady stuff. I'm to lazy to look up the sticky right now (I have school work I need to get done this weekend) but I'd just like to let you guys know since I was guilty of running commands without double checking what they might do by reading a few posts under.

Just a heads up for you new Linux people, although I'm sure the Ubuntu people probably have all that stuff under control on their forums. You'll want to be careful on other sites though.

That's the good thing about Ubuntu and the variants, they have a huge community which you can just about find anything. So don't let any *nix gurus put you down for using the Ubuntu

 

There is always viruses for any system.

It's just that sometimes, it's not worth making some.

For instance everyone has windows (almost)

Linux is developed by anyone.

So it's harder to consentrate on the structure.

50 known viruses to macs.

But macs are what they are.

 

You've just restated what at least five other people have said earlier in the thread. I advise backtracking and reading the counter-arguments before pursuing this train of thought.

 

That's nice bra

 

mine is only working for two settings. but i dont know which two it is, low, medium or high -_-'
im trying to figure out how to use compiz too

 

Yeah I haven't got any of my screen hot keys to work. I was able to find a command to use in terminal which will change the brightness. I have to redo it every time I log in though.

Try this.

open terminal
enter sudo -s
you will be prompted for your admin password.
this will show you the different levels which you can set the brightness to, cat /proc/acpi/video/VGA/LCD/brightness
then you can choose one and enter it like this, echo 0 > /proc/acpi/video/VGA/LCD/brightness

Also check out this link for some helpful stuff to install with Ubuntu

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=856190

 

thats a nice link man, thx.

 

It was pretty good timing for this article to get published. It gets a little technical, but not enough to cause most people problems, I think.

 

Thanks for the link to the article, it was very informative. I'll bookmark it or maybe even make it a part of my guide because I get asked this question quite a lot from people interested in Linux.

 

It’s a rights issue, don’t viruses need the right first, by denying them the right to do some task denies the virus from breath. Im just wetting my feet in linux but what I have been reading in various manuals about superuser /root and logged on users – would make it very difficult for a virus to flourish on a user based account.

 

There are quite a few viruses for linux.

 

lol... k, whatever