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anti-virus program


Kieth
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I searched the forum, and the last time this question was asked was in 2002!! Anyway, I want to install one, but would like to know which ones are now being used, and why? Thanks.

 

Kieth

 

 

 

[moved from Software by spinynorman]

Edited by Kieth
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While clamav is nice and its free....f-prot is also excellent and also free for home users.

Comparing both my personal choice goes to f-prot since its virus database is more wide than clamav...but since i use clamav in my mail server and works very good...take a look at both and chose one.

Clamav is in the rpms tree of Mandriva and can be very easy to install as:

urpmi clamav

 

Cheers.....

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Anyway, I want to install one, but would like to know which ones are now being used, and why?

Why? You like having software installed that you don't need? :-) Unless you're serving windows machines from this box there's still no need to run an AVP on a nix machine.

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If:

 

You are running a mail server.

You often forward e-mails with attachments (i.e. MS Word, etc.).

You serve files to Windows Machines.

Basically, if you have any interaction in which possibly infected files could get transferred to a vulnerable (Windows) machine.

 

You should have an AV program. Just because your system can't get infected doesn't mean you couldn't pass along an infected file. Be a good netizen, scan before you share - it's the responsible thing to do ;)

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Thank you, thank you, for all the replies. I knew there were advantages of linux over MS when it comes to viruses, but I would like to install an AV program for 2 reasons: 1) You never know, there is still a possibility of viruses being made to affect linux (this is not a major motive, or my main reason), and 2) I send and receive e-mails from MS users. As tyme mentioned, I would like to

Be a good netizen

 

I use Thunderbird as my mail program. I have 2 hard drives, one with only Mandriva Spring, and one with WXP, but with a partition formatted in fat32, where I have my Thunderbird mail files. That way, I can use Linux to my heart's content, but others in my family can use WXP to theirs. That obviously means that mail is downloaded from both WXP and Mandriva. I use Panda AV on WXP (scanning done by Internet), which I use about 3 times a week. Advice? Should I install an AV program on linux, since it is what I use all the time, therefore more apt to scan for viruses, or should I just let Panda do all the work on WXP, between 2 and 4 times a week? Thanks.

 

Kieth

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I'd spend the time getting a better windows virus scanner, something that checks their mail as it comes in. By the time you go to use the silly internet one, the damage could already be done.

 

As said above, you only really need one on linux if you're forwarding mail on, or serving files. Do you frequently blindly forward emails with unknown attachments? Probably not, so you don't really need one.

 

James

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Got ya!! I'm a little thick skulled, so it sometimes takes a bit to understand (does age enter into this problem??!!). I never forward anything! At times I send a document (.doc, but written with OpenOffice) to someone, and at times I receive .doc documents. I'm just a "normal" user, that writes using OpenOffice, listens to music off the Internet, writes and sends e-mails, both for work and pleasure, reads the mandriviausers.org forum everyday, and messes up his computer too frequently (which is why I read the forum everyday!! :thumbs: ). My boys use WXP to watch soccer games (until Mandriva Spring I could never get the programs to work in Linux), and play games, both on and off the Internet. I have the K9 web filter on WXP but none on Linux, so therefore only I know how to connect to the Internet on Mandriva. The Panda AV program has worked on getting rid of some problems I've had in the past, but I obviously do not have anything to check in-coming mail. How necessary it is, or what programs to use, I do not know, which is why I'm writing!!

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Just install Avast! Home Edition in your windoze boxes (terrific freeware AV scanner, which does way more than many expensive AV solutions) and leave your *nix box clean of such oddware.

Whenever you will need one ( if ever ), we will be the first to warn you.

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