[gentoo-user] Re: Linux viruses

[Grant Edwards]

On 2013-07-05, Paul Hartman <paul.hartman+gentoo@×××××.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Jul 5, 2013 at 3:12 PM, Dale <rdalek1967@×××××.com> wrote:
>>
>> I had a interesting adventure the other day.  A friend of mine's son
>> is getting ready to go to college.  Budget is tight so we went to
>> find a used laptop for him.  I went into the local puter shop and the
>> techie guy there had a interesting statement that makes me think I'm
>> not recommending them for computer service to anyone else.  While we
>> was chatting, he said that Linux is just as prone to getting a virus
>> as windoze and so is a Mac.  I think my laughing let him know I
>> wasn't buying his comment.
>>
>> I since did some googling and it seems I am right and he just thought
>> I was some know nothing guy he could sell some service too.  Anyway,
>> has anything changed to make Linux more prone to viruses than it used
>> to be?  I read a percentage somewhere that said like 99% of viruses
>> are windoze only.  Is there a indisputable source of information on
>> this?
>
> There have absolutely been viruses and various root exploits for
> Linux systems, but to say it is even 1% as many as Windows would
> probably be a massive overstatement.
>
> Not that Linux or Mac are necessarily inherently more secure than
> Windows,

Well, I'm pretty sure that was the case for Linux for most of the past
20 years.  People who's opinions I trust tell me that Windows security
has vastly improved in the past few years.  Even so, a 90% reduction
in security issues in Windows still leaves them at least a factor of
10 worse that most all recent Linux distros that are installed and
updated with even minimal competence.

That said, even Linux has exploits.  Once upon a time about 12 years
ago, one of my Linux boxes got rooted.  That machine was still using
dial-up (no firewall).  It had an external modem with tx/rx LEDs, and
I always made sure the modem was sitting in plain site.

One day I noticed the tx/rx LEDs start flashing when there shouldn't
have been any network traffic.  I disconnected the phone line, and
after some investigation found a root-kit had been installed.  I
powered off the machine, signed up for DSL (which included a modem
with a router/firewall), wiped the disk, and reinstalled the OS.

Haven't had a problem since then...  [Famous last words.]

Never trust a modem/router/firewall without tx/rx LEDs.  Of course
these days there are so many devices on the network that are phoning
home to check for firmware updates, get TV schedule info, check the
weather, and report everything I do to the NSA that there's network
traffic 24/7 regardless of what I'm doing.

-- 
Grant Edwards               grant.b.edwards        Yow! Send your questions to
                                  at               ``ASK ZIPPY'', Box 40474,
                              gmail.com            San Francisco, CA 94140,
                                                   USA