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My laptop came installed with Windows 10 Pro and has Antivirus Protection.

I planned to install Ubuntu alongside windows in a dual-boot configuration. So I installed Ubuntu with 100GB of space. However, I don't have antivirus on my Ubuntu system, so in the event of a virus I am afraid it might affect Windows as well.

If a virus infects my Ubuntu installation, will it also affect my Windows installation? Also, how do I protect myself from viruses on Ubuntu?

Thomas Ward
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Prakash
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  • Although it is unlikely, you will get a virus on Ubuntu, you can install antivirus. Virus on Ubuntu will not run on Windows. It is the same with other programs. A program for one operating system will not run on another. There is a possibility that someone writes a virus that will infect all operating systems on a hard drive with the appropriate version of virus for each one, but I haven't heard of such a virus. Take a look here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Antivirus – nobody Jan 02 '20 at 07:48
  • "However, I don't have antivirus on my Ubuntu system" You don't need it. Even worse: --ALL-- anti virus software works by checking --windows-- rules to scan linux files. 100% guaranteed that any alert is a false positive. If you need to protect your system from any malware it is -rootkits-. I have been using Linux for 20 years or so and I maintain 400 systems. I never ever had a virus. And all my of clients that had a virus scanner installed had me remove it. rootkit hunters I do have and those every so often trigger. Maybe once every 5 years. – Rinzwind Jan 02 '20 at 15:09
  • There is only 1 use case for a virusscanner with Linux: that is if you use it as a gateway and have windows machines behind that gateway. – Rinzwind Jan 02 '20 at 15:13

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Yes, only when some Russian hacker specifically wants to infect all over your device. But normally, it is very unlikely that if your ubuntu is infected with a virus then it will also affect windows.

When you boot ubuntu, only partitions assigned for ubuntu will be active (you can still have access to windows partition though). Software that you have installed on windows will not run in ubuntu and vice-versa.

I can't remember the last time I installed an antivirus on my device. For the normal daily purpose, you have windows defender. I recommend uninstalling another third-party antivirus as it slows down your device unless you really need it. Also, Linux is highly secure than windows. I have been using Debian for almost 4 years.

biraj silwal
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It is a common misconception that Linux is more secure than Windows. Malware exists for all the systems, Windows, Linux-based, Mac etc.

If we look at the consumer market share of operating systems, we find that most of the user base is Windows PC. Therefore hackers, to maximize their profit should develop malware for Windows. You will see a trend in that a lot of malware has been developed for Windows since they have a greater chance of getting what they want. Who knows, there might be vulnerabilities in Linux that are yet to be exploited. On most Linux distributions, users on Linux-based systems do not have root privileges by default. Only, only you can protect your system. Ensure that you follow good security policies to make sure there is less chance to get your PC infected

Tejas Lotlikar
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    Linux IS more secure due to our default security model. Virusses that run wild like with windows there are NONE for Linux. Not a single 1. Other kinds of malware sure are possible. Linux is more hurt by rootkits. Not virusses. If anyone does get a virus on Linux they installed it themself ignoring ALL security related stops on that. Not an operating systems fault, nor it is the task of an operating system to prevent actions by a user. How stupid they may seem ;-) – Rinzwind Jan 02 '20 at 15:08
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    Also, by default, users on Linux-based systems do not have root privileges.: What about Kali? Linux isn't Ubuntu. – Kulfy Jan 02 '20 at 15:37
  • Kali does not follow the default Linux principles indeed: it is also a live session linux. My comment (and I know you did not address yours to me ;-): Kali install is the user skipping 1 of the basic security features. User fault. Not the operating system to blame if that system gets compromised. – Rinzwind Jan 02 '20 at 16:00