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anti-virus


bigjohn
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If I was a regular windows user, I wouldn't hesitate to have an AV facility!

 

Now I appreciate all the stuff about the additional security of being a linux user etc etc, but when I first installed version 10 official, I noticed that it had drweb on the disc (well ok, it may have shown up from plf or something as I've got the various available sources configured via the easy urpmi site).

 

But in truth, I haven't got the faintest idea of what it's doing (if anything) or how it work's/config/etc etc

 

the only thing I do know is that when it installed, it installed a "user" called drweb which being passworded meant that I had to change the password (which i did).

 

So if I then log in as drweb, I can see the various files in it's home directory. I've had a go at reading them, but really don't understand what either I, or it is supposed to do.

 

does anyone know anything about this app and how to make it work ??

 

regards

 

John

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About three years ago there was a Linux virus called... Cheese Worm if I remember correctly. Here's the thing - it was a positive worm that ran a patch to fix some security issues in most distros.

 

I remember a 'Please send me cheesworm' thread on some boards, everyone wanted to catch it. :thumbs:

 

Loonixers... gotta love 'em.

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there was also bliss (this is an example of why you shouldn't run as root ;) ) and ramen. ramen isn't even a danger anymore, and bliss has a command line option to remove itself!

 

really, there's no need for a linux virus scanner. few (read: you might come across 1 while surfing in the next 50 years or so) spread in the wild, and most are harmless as long as you aren't running things other than system-critical tasks as root. this misconception of needing a virus scanner in linux is just old windows habits dying hard. people think they need a virus scanner because they've always needed on, and so someone writes one that really doesn't do a damned thing. they're selling you peace of mind, not a piece of software.

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Well I've binned the drweb antivirus anyway now!

 

Thanks for the input everyone, it's more to do with "STILL" having too much windows crap floating round in my head - and/or trying to run my system responsibly so that i wouldn't be in a position of forwarding anything "IF" I got it.

 

As for firewall's, well I use a hardware firewall, because I tried shorewall when I first had mandy installed, as well as guarddog, etc etc, but I'm obviously too stupid to understand how to config them, as all they seemed to do was stop me accessing the net!

 

Thanks again

 

regards

 

John

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  • 1 month later...

Tell me more about this firestarter firewall. Is it better than the one the comes with Mandrake? (Shorewall, is it called?) Will Firestarter show you if someone tried to gain access to your machine?

 

I'm already behind a hardware firewall (Netgear router) but would it still be beneficial for me to run a software firewall as well?

Edited by axel_2078
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