Good AV for Linux

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by Albinoni, Jan 18, 2006.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Albinoni

    Albinoni Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2005
    Posts:
    711
    Location:
    Perth, Western Australia
    I'm looking for a good to excellent free AV for Linux. I know that Bitdefender has one for Linux but that's a On Demand scanner and not Real Time. I would prefer a good quality RT scanner.

    Any suggestions would be appreciated.
     
  2. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2003
    Posts:
    163,038
    Location:
    Texas
  3. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2002
    Posts:
    8,102
    Location:
    Hawaii
    ClamAV. It's open source. It's the mainstay on thousands of servers that are using a UNIX-family OS -- see partial list of users HERE.
     
  4. metallicakid15

    metallicakid15 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2005
    Posts:
    454
    dont most antivirus software offer free for linux systems?
     
  5. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2002
    Posts:
    8,102
    Location:
    Hawaii
    No, they do not.
     
  6. metallicakid15

    metallicakid15 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2005
    Posts:
    454
  7. Ned Slider

    Ned Slider Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2005
    Posts:
    169
    I tried this out recently and wasn't impressed. It failed to detect any of my Linux/UNIX samples and detection rates against Windows samples wasn't great either.

    I only played with the on demand scanner (didn't install the RT scanning kernel modules), and I couldn't see any way to delete infected files so, to me at least, it appeared to be a detection only program.

    I'd recommend BitDefender set to run as a cron job as (noted above) it has no real time protection.

    Ned
     
  8. metallicakid15

    metallicakid15 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2005
    Posts:
    454
    antivir is the best out of all free antivirus programs with real time scanner
     
  9. Hallzoc

    Hallzoc Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    Posts:
    3
    I know you said free, but vexira has a real-time scanner for 150 bucks. Their Linux stuff rocks. Can't say anything about the Win stuff though.
     
  10. Alphalutra1

    Alphalutra1 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2005
    Posts:
    1,160
    Location:
    127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0
    Avast! just came out with one today, don't know much about it though.

    Alphaltura1
     
  11. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2004
    Posts:
    5,116
    hi, Albinoni. which distro are you using? if you have Ubuntu i can help you setup something, there's too many to name :cool: but, i use clam mainly, i've setup a front-end (GUI) for it and i can give you a script which you just place in a 'folder' which lets you right-click files and scan them :cool: :cool: it also scans email and automatically updates :thumb:

    http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/4125/screenshot9wt.th.png

    http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/228/screenshotvirusscanresults5jb.th.png

    you can also do a search for anti-virus (maybe just the word 'virus' by it self would be best for the search) in your Package Manager.
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2006
  12. Windfresh

    Windfresh Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2005
    Posts:
    86
    Panda asserted to have a free AV for Linux.It was a couple of weeks ago. Verify their site: www.pandasoftware.com
     
  13. WSFuser

    WSFuser Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2004
    Posts:
    10,639
  14. Pain of Salvation

    Pain of Salvation Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2005
    Posts:
    399
    Do I need a antivirus if I use Linux only at home?
     
  15. WSFuser

    WSFuser Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2004
    Posts:
    10,639
    not rele; linux scanner usually just scan for windows viruses. if u want, u can keep an AV for the occasional ondemand scan.
     
  16. dog [away]

    dog [away] Guest

    I'm not sure what you mean by "only at home"? Regardless, I wouldn't say it's an absolute must, but it's nice to have ... Personally I seldom ever use it.

    I'd suggested clam for the OP.
     
  17. Pain of Salvation

    Pain of Salvation Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2005
    Posts:
    399
    Ok, I use Ubuntu 5.10. I downloaded clamav-0.88.tar.gz. How do I install this?
     
  18. WSFuser

    WSFuser Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2004
    Posts:
    10,639
  19. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2004
    Posts:
    5,116
    if it's on your Desktop do this. just cut and paste everything.

    cd Desktop
    tar -xvzf clamav-0.88.tar.gz
    cd clamav-0.88
    ./configure
    make
    sudo make install
    killall gnome-panel



    here's the page for the script :cool:
    http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=104001
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2006
  20. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2004
    Posts:
    5,116
    lol, i updated to the same version and now it won't update, stupid program :eek: yours should work OK though.
     
  21. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2004
    Posts:
    5,116
    i forgot about the front end. this should install it

    sudo apt-get install clamtk
    killall gnome-panel

    you should then find it in Applications>System Tools>Clam Frontend
     
  22. agoretsky

    agoretsky Eset Staff Account

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2006
    Posts:
    4,033
    Location:
    California
    Hello,

    While not free, you should be able to request a copy of NOD32 for Linux from your local ESET reseller to evaluate. It is a command-line based on-demand scanner and comes in packages for Red Hat and Debian as well as a tarball for anything using a different package manager.

    Regards,

    Aryeh Goretsky
     
  23. aluckystar

    aluckystar Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 30, 2006
    Posts:
    66
    Location:
    Paris of the East
    I don't think it is necessary to install an AV software on Linux for home users right now.

    Up to now, most viruses aim on Windows.

    One of my friends uses Linux for 2 years. He never install an AV software on it and there

    is no problem happened.
     
  24. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2005
    Posts:
    8,251
    Location:
    The land of no identity :D
  25. bktII

    bktII Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2006
    Posts:
    224
    I have installed F-Prot for Linux on my Linux installations. I scan all of my downloads and do a complete scan from / once or twice a month. This is more to protect my Windows friends by being a good internet citizen than anything else.

    Some QUESTIONS for the experts:
    (1) Are Java viruses and trojans OS independent?
    (2) Are Javascript viruses OS independent?
    (3) Are HTML viruses OS independent?

    Is F-Prot AV for Linux good? I don't know. I have never found anything. This probably has a lot to do with practicing "safe hex".

    Here's a link to a short, but interesting article, "Viruses in Linux":

    www.linux-magazine.com/issue/62/Viruses_in_Linux.pdf

    ""Safe Hex" in Linux - The rules for protecting Linux against viruses in are similar to the rules for other systems:
    1. Never use the root account for regular work.
    2. Avoid running binary files of unknown origin. Check them with rootkit and virus scanners first.
    3. Carefully check every file before running it from the root account.
    4. Keep your operating system up to date. Regularly install official security updates.
    5. Secure your environment by using hard-to-guess passwords and other protections.
    6. Track changes in the system using file system integrity tools.

    Just like Windows!

    ********************
    * Here's some data *
    ********************

    First I captured F-Prot's virus list (as of late June '06) in a text file and then did some searches from the command line:

    > ./f-prot -virlist > ~/Security/fprot_virus_list.txt
    > cd ~/Security
    > wc -l fprot_virus_list.txt (A line count for the file. Not all lines are viruses.)
    176739 fprot_virus_list.txt
    > grep Linux fprot_virus_list.txt | wc -l
    7 (A line count for the file. Lines containing the string 'Linux'.)
    > grep Unix fprot_virus_list.txt | wc -l
    1128 (A line count for the file. Lines containing the string 'Unix'.)
    > grep W32 fprot_virus_list.txt | wc -l
    116978 (A line count for the file. Lines containing the string 'W32'.)
    > grep JS fprot_virus_list.txt | wc -l
    12049 (A line count for the file. Lines containing the string 'JS' or Javascript.)
    > grep HTML fprot_virus_list.txt | wc -l
    1119 (A line count for the file. Lines containing the string 'HTML'.)

    Then I explored the text file in the gedit text editor with Search->Find:

    DOS/Windows: 176179 viruses and 64857 Trojans
    Word/Excel: 8609 viruses and Trojans (a sub-category)
    Script: 19576 viruses and Trojans (a sub-category)
    Java: 10 viruses and 459 Trojans
    Unix: 576 viruses and Trojans
    Unix shell: 539 viruses and Trojans (a sub-category)

    [In addition, approximately 16000 viruses are identified using generic identification.]

    P.S. Results may vary among AV vendors/products.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.