[clug] Anti-Virus Software

[Ivan Miljenovic]

On 22 June 2010 15:27, rodryan <rodryan at pcug.org.au> wrote:
> 'AUSTRALIANS would be forced to install anti-virus and firewall software on
> their computers before being allowed to connect to the internet under a new
> plan to fight cyber crime.'
>
> Perhaps they could make the installation of Linux compulsory - just as
> effective.
> And a whole lot cheaper.

Unless, of course, you believe these idiots:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/linux-infection-proves-windows-malware-monopoly-is-over-gentoo-ships-backdoor-updated/2206
http://www.fewt.com/2010/06/linux-infected.html

"Oh, noes, a hardly ever used IRC server was compromised with a trojan
on the 3rd party host they were using to serve their source
repositories.  And Gentoo has admitted that because they use the
source repository that upstream said to use then millions of computers
are compromised because of course people run their servers as
root!!!!!"

(OK, I hyperboled it a _little_; the reason that the Windows binaries
aren't affected is the same reason as no other binaries are affected:
they were built before the trojan got in there, and Gentoo happens to
be the biggest source-based distro around.  That "blindly run `ebuild
*.ebuild manifest'" is also taken slightly out of context).

Linux can admittedly have viruses, etc.; but the chance of getting one
is reduced because of greater in-built security (since hardly anyone
uses root as their day-to-day account) + fewer random exes to download
and execute in the wild does reduce the default probability of a virus
or trojan of an average system.

-- 
Ivan Lazar Miljenovic
Ivan.Miljenovic at gmail.com
IvanMiljenovic.wordpress.com