I like to consider myself part of the exclusive and oh so elite club of linux users. everyone here saying that AV is not needed, because the best security is not to be stupid, is right. but is your grandma tech literate enough to not do stupid things on her computer? your teenage son?

as the linux user base grows, the platform becomes more interesting of a target. even for stupid attacks. and lets be honnest: lots of legitimate open source projects still use an install script to curl and pipe into the terminal as a suggested method to install. which is just horrible!

while an anti malware is a patch. it is the last line of defense after a stupid mistake. so it would be great to have an actual desktop AV for linux. eset used to sell one but it is long out of service.

i use clamAV. but i maintain it for the family, so it is not as simple as telling them exactly what to install and run with default configs.

anyway, for those interested: here are two videos of malware attacks against lunux in rather different fashions:

• https://odysee.com/@AlphaNerd:8/desktop-linux-is-under-attack:a
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNWPODkEHSA

The best Linux antivirus is a healthy dose of dontclickshit.bin.

She’s not afraid of the terminal, but she likes the convenience of GUI programs.

Your wife appears to have the same preferences as I do. I don't mind using the terminal (I usually have one open any time I'm using my laptop or PC), but some things are far simpler in a GUI.

An antivirus is mostly unnecessary when care is taken to not install or use untrusted software. If you install everything as a Flatpak (and modify some of the default permissions), you can avoid allowing software to gain much access to her computer.

While I think people suggesting Linux is immune to malware is stupid, for reasons such as it is "too secure" or "too niche" to be effected by malware, anti malware is like a bandaid to a gaping wound. If you have malware, it is already too late and you should first unplug the device from the network and any connected devices, backup any important data, and fresh reinstall by overwriting the infected install.

If you still think you need some way to defend against malware, use the VirusTotal website, or a native Flatpak called Lenspect, to upload and scan files (such as an executable binary). Lenspect requires no permissions other than network access, so it is safe and the only risk is if you input a file containing personal data it will be uploaded to VirusTotal.

Though to stress again, antivirus is a bandaid! The real solution is to be smart about what you install and only take stuff from trusted sources. Try to make sure everything is a Flatpak and avoid apps with excessive permissions, which weaken the security of the sandbox.