Linux

Most modern antivirus software is a virus in and of itself.

I don't use antivirus on Windows, let alone Linux. Just be mindful of what you're downloading and you'll be fine.

I don't because no antivirus can protect you from yourself, I learned that the hard way while I was still using Windows many years ago.

I had antivirus and antimalware on Windows and I kept them updated and ran scans regularly, almost religiously, than I got a malware that antivirus couldn't detect (they take a while to be updated with new viruses/malware that constantly come out) and the only way to remove it was a blank new install following a specific procedure to clean it all.

That day I understood that no matter how attentive you are about your antivirus, you're never really protected until it's you who learns what to do and what not while accessing the web, so I did a bit of research about how to better configure my PC, how to better recognize phishing/scamming, using adblocker, don't download random software, stuff like that.

I basically learned "how to behave". I stopped using antivirus/antimalware on Windows and I didn't catch a virus since, then I switched to Linux and I still apply the same principles of "good behavior".

That's not to say I'm immune to viruses, I'm certainly not, but my mindset now is that if I ever catch a virus, it will be my fault for doing something I shouldn't have done, and I'll do my best to learn from it instead of relying on software to do that for me.

• Virus scanners only detect a fraction of the harmful programmes.
• Virus scanners can often be tricked.
• Virus scanners often have security vulnerabilities themselves, which are usually quite serious, since such programmes embed themselves quite deeply in the operating system.
• Virus scanners cause many users to become careless because they rely too much on such tools.

Therefore, from my point of view, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Therefore, I do not have such a tool permanently installed, neither under Linux nor under Windows. However, every 6 months I scan my Windows installation with a USB-bootable virus scanner. No actually harmful programme has been found for years.

In my opinion, the following things are much more important than any security software.

• Install updates as soon as possible. Under Windows, you can use tools like Chocolatey for this.
• Only install software from trustworthy sources.
• Only install software that you really need.
• Only use root or administrator rights if you have to. For everything else, the rights of the user account are sufficient.
• Create backups regularly.
• Think before you act.

Especially the last point is a problem for many users. I can't tell you how many times I've witnessed someone receiving an alleged invoice from mobile provider A by email and opening it, even though they had a contract with provider B.

Antivirus is a technical attempt at solving a stupid user problem. It does not actually prevent any problems and causes many of its own.

• run only what you need
• get what you need only from trusted sources
• keep what you need up to date
• configure what you need conservatively
• admin/root account only for admin stuff. Don't use root as your general login.

Run sandboxed software when possible and avoid doing unsafe things.

There is no useful AV for Linux desktops.

Haven't really felt the need to. On Linux ad blocking + common sense has worked out fine. When I was still using Windows I just relied on Windows Defender since around the Windows 8.1 days, but either way my time downloading .exe files from sketchy sites is long behind me.

No. Not needed for the most part if you aren't downloading dumb shit on the internet and keeping things up to date.

Nope.... Raw dawg that shit online.

I wonder how people get phished on IG and FB. Like the get account taken over and blackmailed over a social media account.... That shit baffles me. I'm pretty sure I know how they get phished but I'm just shocked it happens to smart people.

I don't, but that's because of how I have things setup around the network. While most people here say it's because they don't need it, I am in a position that I need SOMETHING simply because others in the household could bring in malware and rather than trust them to make smart decisions, I proactively monitor all network activity for anything unusual. That being said, I have clamAv installed and run a weekly scan, but my real "antivirus solutions" are as follows: A syslog server that's connected to grafana/MySQL and alerts me based on very specific criteria. Along this, I've got my network firewall configured to block all "untrustworthy countries" in and out 100%, as well as use an IDS/IPS (also connected to syslog for alerts). Lastly, an internal DNS which grabs from like 20 sources that include some reliable lists with malware domains and such, and a custom list of my own that I add to as useful security news feeds hit my RSS feed with urls in their blog posts.

Actually got a list of other things going on in the network to make it even more secure, but just wanted to list the main things that'll give you a step up in the anti-malware front.

None of this is buletproof without proper care for how you use the Internet, though.

• Check for router/modem/firewall updates weekly if they can't be auto updated
• never click any links in an email even if you feel you know you trust it (exception to this would be something you KNOW is coming into your inbox, such as an account registration verification)
• avoid tiny urls or suspicious looking urls when possible
• don't open ports unless you really really really know what you're doing. If you absolutely need to open a port, then for the love of god define the source IP address/CIDR. Opening ports to the world includes opening them to cyber criminals
• turn off upnp, I don't care what that game or service you use says, it doesn't need it

You get the idea. My message got way too long and turned into a rant lol.

You dont need an antivirus if you don't run software from unknown sources, and you keep your machine up to date.

For the most part, if you do all that and you're still attacked, they would probably get past an antivirus, anyways. I've never had an antivirus catch anything after decades of running Windows.

A bit thing to note for people running home servers is to watch what they expose to the internet. Insecure software and insecure configurations are huge targets for botnets these days.

Nope.

Why

I don't have wine installed.

Even then, the good old "Reinstall if things feel sluggish" always helps.

No. That would defeat the purpose of me installing Linux in (old) laptops. Windows feels sluggish enough with a sea of bad things wanting your minimum wage and have Windows Defender prevent it but not all of it, obviously.

I put all my attention to prevention and set strict rules on the router. It can be as simple as setting the DNS to stuff like dnsforge.de or DIY it with PiHole with hosts lists of your hearts content that update itself weekly, I do the latter. Nothing beats a cross platform solution that protects every device in the network, if you're after 100% performance. Of course you can still catch bad things, such as social engineering by email that happened over at Linus Tech Tips. You better stay vigilant no matter what solution you use and don't sleep on making backups, which can be as simple and automated when you use Syncthing for example.

Anti-virus software is like a condom. If you don’t go sticking your computer in places it doesn’t belong you won’t really need one.

No, it's Linux.

I usually haven't, but I installed Clam about a month ago on my desktop, ran a full and complete scan, then left it running scheduled scans. Hasn't found anything, and I get a lot of software from outside of my package manager, and use wine for a lot of it, so I'd say my risk/exposure is higher than most.

I think it's fine to go without AV on a linux desktop, but I like the peace of mind. There will definitely be more things targeting linux sytems as/if more market share is acquired, but in terms of security it's more important that you harden the system than run an AV.

Personally I don't use one on any platform because the antivirus companies tend to... Create problems in order to solve them. If you're going to use one on Linux, ClamAV is probably the play. However, far better for your security is to pick a distro that publishes security patches quickly, like Debian or Arch Linux, and then to update your system frequently

No because I use QubesOS. If I got a virus it would be gone the next time I launched my browser.

The anti virus industry boomed because of operating systems that were exceptionally vulnerable to attacks. Simply visiting a website could install software. The root cause of this problem isn't that a user didn't run third-party software. It's that the operating system was vulnerable.

After many years of neglect by operating system vendors, there really wasn't much of a choice in how to be responsible if you insisted on running a vulnerable operating system. Therefore, the industry boomed and it became status quo for users of these operating systems.

Or you could run an OS that regularly fixes vulnerabilities.

That is always a possibility. The only av currently existing that is free is clamav - there are multiple gui frontends for it since it's really meant for servers and stuff - I've mainly seen people use it to scan files before you send it to a windows user tho so not much use unless you need to do that

No I don't use an antivirus because I don't download and run untrusted programs or scripts from the internet.
I do have some block lists on my firewall that block a lot of malware, phishing, and scammer sites though.

Properly educating the users is far more effective than any anti virus software.

The best antivirus is yourself

I have clamav installed, but only run it sporadically during attacks of paranoia. The only thing it's ever found was a Windows virus in an old email attachment among some files that had come from a Windows box.

The main thing you need to do to avoid viruses is avoid running untrusted code, which means, among other things, using paranoid browser settings. Linux tends to have fewer random holes where script execution environments ooze into places where they really shouldn't be, although even Windows isn't quite as bad about that as it was twenty-five years ago.

No. Because there is no need.

Antivirus just make people more negligent even in Windows.

I don't think there's a need. I keep my system patched and I only install from trusted sources. It might make sense in a corporate environment but for a single user machine I can't image ever needing it.