I am getting mixed stories. I hear that because of Windows being WAY more popular then linux that it is infact less secure because who wants to create a virus to effect such a small portion PC's. I'm also hearing that linux is like the Mac OS in that you have to actually allow a virus into your system manually as opposed to Windows where it lets its self in (according to this statement Windows is inferior to Linux as far as security is concerned). On the other hand I am hearing that Linux is very prone to attracting unwanted viruses / spyware, and that it is infact less secure then Windows. I know compairing versions of linux to versions to Linux the facts may vary a little but in general what is more secure, a Windows or Linux OS?
Both are only as safe as you make it. If someone really wants to get into your comp, they'll get in, no matter what kind of firewall, avs, or OS you have. As for the manually letting a virus in on linux, i honestly couldn't tell you, as i've never had any. I do know that there are ways to exploit Linux systems, just like there are ways to get into a windows system, and that's not taking rootkits into account. So, in the end, as long as you are somewhat cautious, think before you donwload something, and keep an eye on your system, it shouldn't matter on what kind of OS you've got running, cause they are all only as secure as you make them...
Yea they have Firewalls and stuff like that......Check your Package manager......By the way what distro are you using....I am using Ubuntu
Since virusses are mostly non existant on Linux (due to the differences in kernels and distributions) there's no need for an AVS. Most distro's come with some kind of ip table setup/firewall, like Tocool4u said, and additional software can usually be found on the distro's homepage, or links can be found on it's forums.
I havn't decided on a distor yet. I like knoppix because its the one I have the most experience with. I am still exploring the different distros to determine which I wanna go with. Btw how do you like Ubuntu?
well like the friend say, there is no save system but, is Linux or any unix system more stable then windows, you better believe it , windows is more likely to crash then any unix or Linux versions, in fact I have used 27 flavor of Linux, and the one that like the most is SUSE 9&10 it is simple to use looks like windows but fast and simpler to use plus it is real plug&play system, particularly on installation, just enable all peripherals from before installation and lat he OS YAST do the rest, well enjoy how all peripherals do actually work right and are properly installed, plus in SUSE get all the goodies that most people need office, burning,samba,data management,well you the idea just pick the packages that you need, there are two way of setting SUSE simple&fast and Advance&complete but you can all ways add or remove anything even after installation is completed, I personally think that SUSE is more complete the Ubuntu,Mandriva,Fedora,and most others it those more of task that become a pain for beginners in Linux, it has lots to offer then most out there, is simple or complex as you like and swishing kde to gnome or any of the other format is just as simple, ho by the way YAST stands for yet another system tool but more then just that, and as far as 64 bit OS that really works this it, Linux & Unix have is 64 bits for more than 8 years can windows say that, HO!! what is the internet running on not windows it is Unix and Linux is base on Unix platformed, well thats my 2 cents, enjoy
what you could do is install something like clamav, it wouldn't hurt. Stumbled on this thread as was trying to remember how to set clamav to update itself automatically. back to google
*NIX is very reliable as everyone is saying. I have servers that have been been up for almost a year without a reboot. As long as the system is configured properly they tend to never need to rebooted unless you are swapping hardware or upgrading the kernel. As for it being safer, both OSes have their fair share of operating system holes. *nux holes, though, tend to get patched quicker though imho.
Well, LINUX, i spose runs on a different basis as you dont install files as such, you install different packages to run different types of files like SCAR sort of works if you are familiar, therefore programming is already built into linux you just download the runnable G.U.I, so personally i dont see that there is any way you can DOWNLOAD a virus as such, you would literally have to manually run it, and you'd only run interfaces you specifically downloaded/know about! Apart from that you technically have to upload one into linux's shell or get the person to run it unknowingly, so no you cant if your carefull, but it still is, like any OS, 'exploitable', using various equipment such as port scanners and you'd need to know the computer's ip and ect... But I can safely say that LINUX is far more secure than a windows OS as you would have to indeed run the virus manually or they'd have to have access to your pwd database stored on the linux's hardrive which isn't acessable remotely it is only acessable locally, there for they'd need to know your password!!! Hope this Helps
I researched about security of OS's, and the experts say the OS is as secure as you make it. the following reasons explains how unix systems (such as macs and linux) are secure 1) Hackers want to get the most victims, and windows owns most of the computer market, so hackers go for windows 2) windows run off of DOS and macs/linux runs off of unix. DOS was made for single computers so ther was no reason or secuity, and unix is made for networking, so it was built with security. 3) for unix, there are protection such as root password. DOS itself doesn't has protection. 4) ther are no rootkits for any other system other then windows (atleast non I hear of) because rootkit modifies the system, so rootkits for different systems (is there is some) have to be programed for that specific system. even with those 4 reasons, unix systems are still not 100% secure, and you can make windows more secure. Thats why there is a big debate over it.
