52
Antiviruses?
(lemmy.world)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2025
52 points (98.1% liked)
Linux
62524 readers
161 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
If you're careful and only install from the repo, you generally don't need an AV. But if you do, ClamAV is the main AV on Linux. Installation tutorial for Mint: https://idroot.us/install-clamav-linux-mint-22/
Doesn't ClamAV only check for Windows viruses that are passing through a Linux server?
No. ClamAV can, for example scan Linux ELF executables and its database contains signatures for malware that could affect desktop Linux. The most common use case is servers that are distributing files, but it can be used to scan local files.
The local use case is fairly rare because malware targeting desktop Linux is rare. That's partly because Linux users tend to have a better understanding of computers on average than Windows users, and partly because the sort of attack vectors that work well against Windows users don't align with Linux workflows (e.g. if you want to execute a file sent as an email attachment, you'll have to save it and set it executable first).