Why Linux Isn’t Only for Geeks

Virus writers are barely motivated to target Linux environments, given the hostility they face.

Have there been any recent instances of the bad guys succeeding in staying a few steps ahead?

One word:

Android.

Android's susceptibility to malware has been greatly exaggerated. The primary threat had been to Android phone/3G/4G users, and not to WiFi tablet users. Android users just have to be smart, and not download apps from no-name developers that appear to be clones of other apps from more legitimate sources. And, on a technical note, the malware written for Android are largely Trojan horses, not viruses. That drives home my point that malware on Android is largely a social engineering problem than a technical one.

I'm aware of the difference between viruses and Trojan horses. I was answering the question as it was asked.

However, bear in mind that the battle against Android malware is a constant one, even within the Android Market.

I can think of one place that Linux seems to have some problems: phpMyAdmin scanners. 8 or 10 times a week, something identifying itself as "ZmEu" scans my web server for phpMyAdmin installations that have some kind of remote code execution bug. A few other scanns for WordPress login problems also turn up once in a while.

So, one widely-installed cr@ppy PHP web app causing a lot of problems.

But it's the APP causing the problems, not the OS... If this were M$,... they'd be singing the "third party app's the culprit, not our OS," tune all day long. For the most part, the Linux camp doesn't do the same,... allowing the OS, as a distro, or whatever, to take the fall for any security issue.

I have yet to be infected by malware while running a Linux box, and that's about a decade now. I can't say the same when I ran Windoze.

The Chernobyl virus is what got me to kick my Windows habit forever. April 1, 1998 is my "sobriety" date.