Does Redhat Linux get Virus ????????

[vrcatherine]

I'm trying to move from Windows to Linux world,got some quick question:



1) Does Linux (redhat 9) also gets virus like windows
operating system ?

2) How about applying security patches and other OS
patches like windows, Do i have to do the same here
as well ?



Any other good reasons for me to move away from Windows
and get into Linux ?



---Thanks in Advance
Cathy

 

[stefanwagner]

I'm using linux and get a lot of viruses by email.
But they don't infect me, because they are all made to infect Windows-PCs.

Viruses aren't impossible for Linux, but I never heard of a real virus in the wild.

There are some linux-virus-scanners, but they are meant to be used when linux acts as a server for windows-machines, to protect them from viruses.
---
Securitypatches are released frequently, in very short intervals.
But as long as you don't run serversoftware (ftp-server, file-server, http-server, ...) you don't need to care.

I'm running linux since for about 10 years and never had a virus or a foreign attac, causing damage.

But if you run Serversoftware, you should keep your system up to date.

seeking a job as java-programmer in Berlin:

http://home.arcor.de/hirnstrom/bewerbung

 

[sleipnir214]

The virii that infect Win32 will not, as yet, infect Linux.

That's not to say, however, that there are not Linux virii out there. According to the Virus Information Library at Network Associates, there are 140 known Linux virii, worms, trojans and exploits. Some of these target the OS, some target specific applications or servers that run on that OS.


As stefanwagner has said, you will still need up update software periodically. On the good side, open-source vendors tend to be very fast in providing updates. On the bad side, any given Linux box can have software from 100 different vendors, any one of which can require patching -- this can make knowing when to upgrade what difficult. There are organizations, however, that make the effort to collect and distribute update notifications. SANS is one.



Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[jwenting]

There are FAR more exploits out there for the unwary Linux user (which most are, lulled into a false sense of security by the constant mantra of "Linux is secure").

The 140 listed are probably just the ones NAI has a means to remove them for.

 

[stefanwagner]

exploits aren't viruses, and you may see, that I distinguished them.
Can you link me to an information on security risks for linux-users, who don't run a server?

seeking a job as java-programmer in Berlin:

http://home.arcor.de/hirnstrom/bewerbung

 

[fluid11]

I agree with stefanwagner that AV software isn't needed on *nix systems and that there is a difference between exploits and virii.

If you install RH9, go to freshrpms.net and download apt-get to keep your sytem up to date.

ChrisP
RHCE, LPIC-1, CCNA, CNE, MCSE, +10 others

 

[mangalassery]

we are not sure if this is really a virus, but my friend's mandrake 10 suddenly starts spawning ksnapshot infinitely. we have tried re installing linux even tried formatting the hard disk and changed the partition layout. but it still happens.. so what we did?... we renamed knsapshot to ksnapshot123.... well it solved the issue.. only for a short time. then kde started spawning some other gui window... at lastwe threwout mandrake 10 and installed mandrake 9.1

 

[jwenting]

Of course there's a difference between exploit, trojan, virus, etc.

But remember that to most users they're all the same: a means by which someone else somewhere can take over their computer or otherwise damage it without their prior consent (note the last to exclude tools that provide remote desktop with full knowledge of the user like VNC viewer).

If you check the lists of published "virusses" released by AV vendors over the last several years 90% or more are email borne trojans that need a deliberate action on the part of the user (like opening an attachment that launches the infection process) in order to infect a target machine.
Traditionally a virus is described as fully self-replicating which these are not (user interaction is required to start the replication cycle).
Of course the distinction is often subtle...

 

[Gnasty]

.
.
Here's the short answer:

NO.

Here's a slightly longer answer:

For now.

Here's what to do:

Dont ever download and open an Email on your system. Get a Yahoo account and use that to read your Email.

As for security:

Goto your Control Center, click on Security, and set your system to "medium". Unless you're a server, you won't need any more than that....

For now.


Gnasty
.
.

 

[jstreich]

Linux is falible; and there are indeed viruses, worms and exploits.

The biggest difference: There are fewer of them and patches for them are released a lot more quickly than for Windows. In general, you'll want to use iptables or other firewall. You'll want to deny access to any port that your leaving open for good reason (read: your running a server on that port). Make sure all servers run non-root, if a user is able to get a server program to crash, he can (at least in theory) get acsess to the user account that the server is running as. Linux is a lot better at taking care of permissions and not allowing stack overflows and the like, but be aware of who wrote, who reviewed and how good thirdparty software is for your system. C/C++ are the most common languages that Linux programs are written in -- if they aren't well written a smart enough guru can find a way to get the program to act badly.

Linux is more secure than windows, and even if you don't know how to protect your machine -- Linux is in general a more secure OS. You are a lot less likely to catch a virus, but if you do foolish things bad things can (though they probably won't) happen.