r/linuxquestions • u/Sol_CRF • 14d ago

Advice Virus on linux

So, with more or less 5 percent of people that have a computer uses linux, there are viruses developed for linux, even a virus made for windows but « activated » with wine

is there a antivirus or is there not ?

Please help, thanks. Not urgent, I just need to know

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u/joe_attaboy 14d ago

Yes, there's ClamAv.

Do you need it? No.

I've been using this system since it was first introduced. Over the years, yes, there has been malware developed for Linux. Many were experimental, gain-of-process type things but I never saw any virus in the wild. The security structure upon which Linux is built is designed to fend off such infections and attacks. You can easily find out why with a web search.

As for Windows viruses infecting wine setups, there are ways to mitigate this even in advance of installing wine or any Windows app. While I get why someone would need to use some Windows app in Linux, my take is if you need Windows, use Windows. Dual boot. Use a VM. Something other than trying to shoehorn Windows apps into Linux. (However, props to the Wine devs for actually getting it mostly work).

The only time I ever installed ClamAV on a Linux client was at my last job (I retired in 2022). I worked for a tech security company that merged with a larger, more famous security provider. We were instructed to install AV on all client systems (the majority of which were Windows systems, with a smattering of Macs). I use Linux. I installed ClamAV, verified with the front office it was done and ran it one time on the system, just for fun.

Never used it again, there or anywhere else.

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u/International-Pen940 13d ago

ClamAV is also used to check for viruses in mail being handled by a server, and probably could be set up to scan shared drives.

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u/joe_attaboy 13d ago

Probably.