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What are people using currently for virus and malware checks? I realize there is far less need for this with Linux than with Windows, but I still prefer wearing a seat belt just moving my car out of the driveway.

I installed rkhunter and chkrootkit from Aptitude. Is there anything else in general favor? Most posts I read on this topic are five to ten years old, so I thought I'd ask again.

Thank you.

Kevin Berry
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  • 'old' does not mean they don't still apply. This is essentially the same question as one that's already asked and those answers more or less still 'apply' – Thomas Ward Apr 06 '21 at 01:17
  • @ThomasWard The stats of the linked post: 1 active product (ClamAV), 3 discontinued products (BitDefender, Avast, F-Prot), and a no-name weblink that looks like snake-oil and I won't click (non-free anyways). Here, the question has brought already 2 active packages that the linked page did not even mention. – Levente Apr 06 '21 at 02:11
  • It is time to retire the old question. – Levente Apr 06 '21 at 02:18
  • Levente, you are right. Thank you for paying such attention to details. – Kevin Berry Apr 06 '21 at 04:25
  • @Levente that's a Meta post/discussion in its own right. – Thomas Ward Apr 06 '21 at 13:05
  • @Levente rkhunter and chkrootkit are very specific tools and don't provide adequate security protections that actual antivirus tools work with. That's why they aren't listed in the main question. They only target the rootkits in their config set and not broader threats. – Thomas Ward Apr 06 '21 at 13:06
  • @ThomasWard that's all the more reason to leave this question here open. So that it can garner answers, that you, for some very concerning way, deem unfit for the "virus" question. (I mean, what else, what other available means had already been ruled unfit for mentioning?) People need to be able to learn about the tools available from somewhere. Shutting down communication on AskUbuntu about means to counter malware? Why? – Levente Apr 06 '21 at 13:43
  • @Levente this is a larger Meta discussion. You probably should open a thread on Meta about this. rkhunter and chkrootkit don't find the most recent stuff either, which is probably WHY they weren't mentioned on the other question. Which by the way you can still answer with additional new details, etc. That older question, just because it's 'older', doesn't mean you can't answer with newer info to improve it. – Thomas Ward Apr 06 '21 at 14:32
  • @ThomasWard My question asks what is current today? As Levente pointed out, 60 percent of what was recommended six years ago is now obsolete. The sofware world changes a lot in 6 years. I really would like current information on my question. So far, I understand ClamAV is a possibility. Are there other possibilities? I would be grateful if you would list every possibility for me if you leave the question closed. Thank you. – Kevin Berry Apr 07 '21 at 05:36
  • @KevinBerry software list questions are generally 'offtopic' here though because they don't get any single answer that is all-inclusive. Current ones I know work are ClamAV, Sophos AV for Linux. Those're the only two I've seen that actually behave right, but Sophos AV live Protection is a painful evil thing. – Thomas Ward Apr 07 '21 at 15:49
  • @ThomasWard OK, thank you very much. I will work with CLamAV. I do appreciate current help narrowing down what to learn about and use. – Kevin Berry Apr 07 '21 at 23:09
  • @KevinBerry don't thank him. Through the interface this website offers to you, the entire Ubuntu community's knowledge was available to you. He wedged himself in between you and this wealth of information. Even when he decided to answer, still, in effect, it was only him who got a chance to answer you, and your choice was still narrowed down to hear only from him and not anybody else. Even if he is an extremely experienced and knowledgeable user, this situation is wrong. – Levente Apr 08 '21 at 02:57
  • @Levente, you are right. If the question had stayed open, more people would have given input, and of course, that would have given me more options to consider. There were a few things I considered in just yielding to the question getting closed. You both are far more experienced than I am with Linux and gave input on ClamAV.as a possible solution without feeling the need to specifically recommend anything else. Many don't use antivirus software anyway with Linux and rely on just being careful. The third is all I can do is sincerely thank people for doing their best; it helps keep the peace :). – Kevin Berry Apr 09 '21 at 02:33
  • Probably the best antivirus for Linux today is PIC. Person in chair. Keep your system updated, have good backups(not connected), an ad blocker, and don't click unknown links. Think ClamAV is considered more of a band-aid, and the other AVs that work on Linux today are a pain. – crip659 Aug 15 '21 at 11:37

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