Dear folks,
for the last two months, I have NOT been using Windows softwares and I keep all my activities within the realm of LINUX Ubuntu with software which are surely as good or often better than what you see under Microsoft.
For example, Xfig is uncomparable and unmatched for making precise drawings almost as good as Autocad.
Xfig is free and runs under LINUX.
My two HP laptops were both updated with the latest Ubuntu, including a six year old Pavilion with a 3 GHx processor which sees Open Office running faster than my recent HP bi-pro, even with less RAM. But it came with a very good Harman-Kardon sound system, top ATI video card and all sorts of peripherals which made this computer FNAC's best seller until it ran out of stock (in two weeks).
Even my wife has welcomed the transtition to LINUX and likes the old HP better since we can switch off the crappy HP mousepad.
One question that keeps coming is this one : how does LINUX handle viruses, especially the ones sent by the people supposed to defend us when we are not in agreement with our governments covert activities which is often the case as far as I am concerned since we live in a world of significant corruption. Well, LINUX has none whatsoever coming along with any distribution. Hence, point one: we are open to attacks.
However, the history of virus attacks on LINUX is very slim since this is far more difficult to attack it. LINUX is much more cornered in the sense that it does not allow any administrative processes to happen if you are working from a client account with limited powers. To do damage to your computer, the virus needs admin rights which cannot be stolen.
However,you may consider getting one virus.
Then comes the question of which one to get.
And here is a good article which can help you in that sense.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/free-linux-antivirus-programs/
I will rewrite its content just in case the link becomes dead.
Luc
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Does a Linux user need antivirus software? Not really: infecting a Linux machine is pretty hard to do. That doesn’t mean there aren’t good reasons to have scanning software around, though.
If you insert your thumb drive regularly into Windows computers, for example, it might be infected, meaning you’re spreading malware with it and not even knowing it (see: Stuxnet). Antivirus software for Linux gives you a quick way to check your drives without any risk of infecting yet another Windows machine.
It’s also a great tool to have around if you regularly help your Windows-bound friends and family recover from viruses. Remove their hard drive and plug it into your computer, or just use your Linux machine to clean their external drives.
Most Linux antivirus software focuses on removing Windows viruses, and function as one-time-scan tools rather than the Windows-style, sit-in-your-tray-and-protect-you products that’s common in Windowsland. Such software is not essential for Linux users, but is pretty handy.
Oh, by the way: if you’re looking for Windows anti-virus software, you will want to read the ten best free antivirus programs that we previously published.
Avast
Avast, the anti-virus program I previously decided has the coolest name for an anti-virus program, also sports a pretty great Linux GUI. As you can see it looks right at home on my Ubuntu desktop. This makes it easy to update defintions and scan the folders of your choice.
It’s also really easy to install Avast for Linux. Just download your package of choice (rpm, deb and tar.gz), then register for a free year of Avast usage. If you don’t register, you won’t be able to use the program:
Happily, registering gives you one year of free non-commercial usage, so you won’t need to do this frequently. And you’ll have access to a sleak GUI and all of the definitions Avast has to offer.
BitDefender
This is one of my favorites. BitDefender frequently finds, for me, viruses that other scanners miss. Being able to use it from Linux is a big plus.
Finding it for Linux isn’t straightforward, though. You need to head over to the BitDefender for Unices page, then click the “evaluation version” button. You’ll be given a form to fill in, and when you’re done you’ll get a license valid for one month and a link to downloads.
The downloads look like this:
Find your platform and package of choice (ignoring, for now, the “.run” file extension) and download it (right-click and click “save as“, or your browser might try to open the entire file as a text document.) Change the permissions of the file to allow it to be executed. If you don’t know how to do this, the simplest way is to right-click it, click “Properties,” open the permissions tab, then click “allow executing.”
Finally, open your command line. Browse to the folder with the file, then type “sudo ./[filename]“, where [filename] is the name of the BitDefender version you downloaded. You’ll need to read an EULA before BitDefender will finally install (mercifully, using the package manager of your choice).
Why you need to go through all of that I don’t know, but it’s worth it. You now have access to a complete version of BitDefender. You can scan any file, update with the click of a button and much more. The graphical interface is identical to that of the BitDefender Live CD.
The free license lasts for only 30 days, but you can apply for another one if you need to.
ClamAV
Completely open source, ClamAV is probably the most famous Linux anti-virus. Using it requires some command line knowledge, but there is a basic GUI for running scans:
Installing ClamAV is simple; it’s in the repositories of most Linux distributions. Install the “clamtk” package and you’ll get the above GUI and you’ll have everything you need; or, if you’re an Ubuntu user, simply click here to download ClamAV.
Once you’ve installed ClamAV, fire up your terminal and run “sudo freshclam“. This will update ClamAV’s virus definitions for you.
Now you simply need to run clamtk. Fire it up from the command line, or find the program called “Virus Scanner” in the “Accessories” section of the menu. Use the GUI to scan any folder, or your entire system. Or, if you prefer, use “clamscan” from the command line. Either way you’ve got some quality, free anti-virus protection.
AVG
Those familiar with AVG’s Windows interface will be disappointed: AVG for Linux has no GUI. This command line scanner does offer the same virus definitions of AVG’s famous Windows program, though.
You can easily download AVG for Linux. You’ll find packages for every major distro, including .deb and .rpm files.
Using the program is straightforward. First you need to start the AVG daemon: run “sudo avgctl –start“. Then you can use “sudo avgupdate” to update the software, and “avgscan” to scan a given file.
There’s not a whole lot else to say about this one, although I hope AVG releases a Linux GUI again soon (previous versions offered one).
Conclusion
These four programs all offer Linux users a way to scan for Windows viruses, and the occasional Linux one as well. If you regularly help your friends and family out with IT stuff I recommend you install at least one such program, to keep it on hand.
