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On Linux being highly hostile for viruses

Story: Why Linux Isn’t Only for GeeksTotal Replies: 6
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linuxsavvy

Nov 21, 2011
1:21 AM EST 		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?
gus3

Nov 21, 2011
8:00 AM EST 		One word:

Android.
JaseP

Nov 21, 2011
8:49 AM EST 		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.
gus3

Nov 21, 2011
1:09 PM EST 		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.
phsolide

Nov 22, 2011
12:16 PM EST 		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.
JaseP

Nov 22, 2011
1:51 PM EST 		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.
gus3

Nov 22, 2011
2:03 PM EST 		The Chernobyl virus is what got me to kick my Windows habit forever. April 1, 1998 is my "sobriety" date.

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