Linux and virus scans

[JoeDude]

OK, I have been going to a security wesite for a while now. One of the admins there was posting about using clamav and how important it was to do this even in linux. So I researched it. There seems to be 2 schools on this:

They don't affect Linux, so who cares, when it leaves your system to affect a windows user, then it serves them right for using windows (Kinda na na na boo boo if you ask me)

Others seemed to emphasise that even though you have to work at it to install a virus on linux, the responsible thing to do was to use a viruscan to mainly eliminate win viruses from being passed on through your system.

OK, is tere a right answer here? Opinions? Corrections if I have misunderstood anything I read?

I don't foresee me any time in the future saving a virus, then making it executable, then running it, but I still would like to see what ya'll think of this.

[Void Main]

I have no need for virus software as I don't use Windows, however I do run ClamAV on any incoming mail on my mail server. I don't feel any particular need to do that though. The only reason I can think of that I run it on my incoming mail is that way I can detect if someone I know has sent me a virus so I can notify them to clean their garbage up. It would be a rare instance where I would take a file capable of being infected (some Microsoft executable or document with macros) and pass that on to some 3rd party. I do send documents of my own out that I have created in OpenOffice but I am not worried about these files. My opinion is if you have to run virus software then more than likely something is very broken on your system. Of course any Microsoft system is very broken by default.

On top of that the whole Virus Detection thing is a big scam. Rarely (if ever) will it prevent a new virus from wiping your entire operation out if the virus writer chose to be that destructive. The only virus that virus detection software can tell you about are known viruses contained in it's signature database. Gee, thanks for letting me know what virus I have *after* wiping out my entire operation because you didn't know about it and get it into your signature database until 3 days after it happened. That's not a solution in my book.

[Calum]

good answer. buying antivirus software to protect your PC is like buying socks to protect you from a house fire.

in answer to the first post, i think both schools of thought are correct. It would be responsible to run AV software to help out all the hopeless windoids on the network, but if you don't then it serves them right for sure, and is in no way your fault when they get viruses. The only way it could backfire on you is if they find out the virus (or trojan or whatever) was routed through you before it came to them i suppose.

[JoeDude]

LOL....yeah, then of course the windows users would say "look, linux user OMG HAXOR, AHHHHHHHH he sent me a virus!!!" Good to hear, I didn't think the staus quo had changed. I guess being a security site, their main purpose is to get people to use their product anyway...