My World, My thoughts

My sixth semester has begun and a few queries sprang up in the very first class of our Software Engineering subject. It was a general discussion about windows and Linux security and people were skeptical regarding the possibility of virus in Linux. Lets take a the issues objectively.

To start with, I have been using windows XP professional for last four years and I must say, I was troubled by many viruses ranging from small NEW FOLDER virus to a deadly virus that crashed my hard drive once. And I had tough time looking for the best antivirus solution and its updation process every fortnight. Just recently I switched to Linux. And its no trouble in terms of malicious code. Its walls are strong enough to relieve you from virus problems.

But then I came across a new rumour: Linux has got no viruses. How could this be ???? Here’s the general perception: Windows is prone to attack and needs tons of patches, while Linux is a stable operating system that suffers from no viruses.

Here is what Microsoft guys have to say: there aren’t so many Linux machines around, and as Linux becomes more popular, there will be more viruses for that platform. Lets do some digging ........ more than 50 % of web servers across the globe run Linux as their OS and most of the world`s biggest enterprises (including Yahoo, Google and Amazon) use Linux as their backbone OS. So there is no point in saying that there aren`t many Linux machines yet. As a virus developer and illicit programmer, I would love to make Linux virus as that can be easily used to target the biggies.

Now, coming back to the topic, there do exist viruses for Linux. There have been Linux security incidents involving viruses. Existence of Linux anti-virus tools(which I have described below) is a testimony. But I`d like to reinforce the idea that Linux is inherently more secure( though it’s a controversial subject). If you ask a Linux devotee, he’ll brag about file permissions and similar stuff, and how Linux users don’t need to worry at all; just go and ask someone marketing security products or an enterprise manager, and he’ll possibly tell you to better tighten your Linux systems.

Linux is a stable OS, but it’s not a secure OS. Its stability can be attributed to its features to restore back to its original state in case the OS is tampered in any manner (windows also have this feature but probably thats not as strong is Linux). But that does not guarantee security in any sense. The doors are still unfastened. In fact Linux is more vulnerable as its source code is available(searching for back doors in Linux is far more easy). Hence, programmers can easily design malicious codes against Linux.

Now, probably, it is not the "prime target" yet because it has not yet penetrated in the lowest level of OS hierarchy- the home and small business consumers-where one finds the highest number of users (c’mon dude, one cannot imagine to thrash the security system of Google, Yahoo or Microsoft just like that). What I also feel here is that the intentions of virus developers. They will receive applause from their peers if they are able to unlock the tight windows systems instead of wide opening Linux gates (I remember someone in class had quoted "People like to break rules"). It may be a prevalent prejudice among these communities. It’s just a matter of time before Linux OS is targeted by malware writers.

Antivirus for Linux:

It may sound absurd to few. This at first sounded ridiculous to me also. But later when I googled the term “linux antivirus”, and to my surprise, I did find few antivirus solutions for Linux. But again there is a problem. As not many Linux virus are found in market currently, so judging the caliber of these products is really tough. Still, here are few I thought worth mentioning:

1. Kaspersky Antivirus
HERE IS THE LINK
Kaspersky Lab expanded into the American market in late 2005 with the US debut of its anti-virus software for Linux and UNIX mail servers, file servers and workstations. Kaspersky Anti-Virus version 5.5 is designed to protect e-mail servers, file servers and workstations running on Linux, Free BSD and Open BSD operating systems.

2. Panda Antivirus
HERE IS THE LINK
Panda software, makers of one of the most popular online virus scan services, has an offering for Linux: an anti-virus that scans and disinfects Windows and DOS workstations connected to a Linux server, as well as the Linux server itself. The target files of the antivirus are Word documents, Java Applets, ActiveX controls and compressed files. Further, Panda Antivirus for Linux is freeware.

3. BitDefender Linux
HERE IS THE LINK
Support for this product has been discontinued, so get it from the site above while it’s still offered for download! BitDefender features an on-demand scanner for command line or shell scripts, and manual scans of individual files or entire file systems. The site claims that “new, undiscovered threats can be detected and immediately eliminated from the system,” though we can’t figure exactly how that works.

4. F-Prot Antivirus Linux
HERE IS THE LINK.
You’ll find a range of F-Prot’s products, for mail servers, file servers, and workstations.

Well, this is all I had to say ......... any queries and doubts or suggestions, comment box is yours ...........