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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly?
MSFT 473.40+0.1%3:44 PM EST
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To: Bill Fischofer who wrote (64279)1/19/2002 12:59:55 PM
From: dybdahl   of 74651
 
The term virus is normally used for programs that spread using the operating system's mechanisms. The term worm is normally used for a program that hacks computers - some worms spread like virus'es, some don't.

Linux does not provide mechanisms for virus'es to spread. Therefore, viruses on Linux only exist if applications provide mechanisms - if Microsoft would port Microsoft Word to Linux, Word viruses would exist on Linux. But as long as Microsoft Word isn't available, no viruses can exist.

Worms, on the other hand, do exist on Linux like on most other operating systems. You can prevent worms by fixing the exploits before the worm arrives - this is not always possible, especially if the worm has been specially designed to attack you and nobody else.

So Linux is inherently secure against viruses - you just have to avoid installing software that provides virus facilities.

It's not secure against worms, so here you have to choose a security level. If you only want to protect against common worms, make sure you update your system if it does not have a firewall running. Red Hat Network does this nicely.

Another solution is to put your computer behind a firewall.

If you want to protect against hackers that specifically target you and know vulnerabilities that are not publicly known and patched, your security level should be a lot higher - you should monitor your networks etc. This is what most companies do.

But a virus scanner on Linux will not provide any security that isn't already there if you use Red Hat Network or an equivalent service.

Using virus scanners on Linux is as important as SoftRAM on Windows.

Dybdahl.
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