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Tasmanian Dept. of Education Wants Anti-Virus for Linux, OS X
An anonymous reader writes "One of Australia's largest government technology buyers, the Tasmanian Department of Education, has gone to market for a security vendor to supply anti-virus software for its 40,000-odd desktop PCs and laptops, as well as servers. But the department's not just running Windows — it runs Mac OS X and Linux as well, and has requested that whatever solution it buys must be able to run on those platforms as well. But have we reached the stage were Mac OS X and Linux even need third-party security software? It seems like most Mac and Linux users don't run it."
no.
A computer can still pass on a virus even if it cannot directly infect you. It might not be your responsibility but will a child know this? If he forwards an attachment unwittingly or something?
Linux users and Mac users could accidentally infect a Windows user.
Anti-virus is a security last resort. If you've already downloaded or executed malware, then anti-virus might prevent it from running, or might be able to remove it if it already has. But it can't detect everything. It can only detect common malware. Linux doesn't have any common malware, and I'm not sure about Mac. There is clamav, but that's mostly detecting Windows viruses across platforms.
If you exchange documents and files with other users, having anti-virus and anti-malware software or not is not only an issue for your own protection.
Even if you run on a system that you believe to be safe from those kinds of infections, you might spread it to other users if you ever pass on files that you get from others.
This might not be of any importance to you personally, but in a large organization it might be of vital importance that malicious software can't "hide" in unprotected systems of other flavours that it was designed for.
/.Mattsson - My native language is not English, so please don't whine over linguistic errors. (That's lame anyway...)
I run Windows and I still don't use that stuff... I'm totally open source - err, open-minded - and I don't mind sharing my computer with a botnet and my credit card with poor Russkis, Nigerians, and Chinamen. All for one and one for all, I say!
There already exist both commercial and non-commercial anti-virus applications that run on Linux (Wikipedia has a list) which mainly target Windows viruses passing through corporate networks. Some anti-virus solutions target native viruses (virii?), but most are quickly obsoleted via updates anyways. I suspect this is what the Dept. of Education is asking for, and it's not unreasonable.
I use clamav. I'm currently running a dual boot setup with Win7, but its only used for gaming (once a month or so) and for a few programs that I've only gotten to run without a hiccup in windows. Since I dont use it all that often, I also dont update it all that often, so having an AV run from outside the OS seems like its not a bad idea.
#!/bin/sh
echo "stating scan..."
n=`find / -type f | wc -l`
echo "scan completed of $n files"
exit 0
Atari rules... ermm... ruled.
But have we reached the stage were Mac OS X and Linux even need third-party security software? It seems like most Mac and Linux users don't run it.
In todays world it is not a matter of whether the OS requires it, its more and more a matter whether the User/Admin requires it.
Hivemind harvest in progress..
1 group will claim GNU/Linux doesn't need anti virus software.
2nd group will claim they use antivirus on their GNU/Linux already, but only to clean emails destined for MS Windows machines or to look after their Samba exported storage.
3rd group will say GNU/Linux needs AV software because it's only a matter of time before viruses (virii?) appear.
4th group will say viruses for GNU/Linux already exist and provide links to some sensationalist articles on the interwebs where researchers published some concepts.
5th group (partially composed of group 1 and 2) will claim they're not real viruses, but worms/snakes/butterflies/etc...
6th group will claim the threat aren't viruses but PPAs in ubuntu.
3rd/4th group will return saying it's all about users and not the OS. And because they're careful users, they've never in their life needed AV on their MS Windows.
Does that about cover that? Let the holy war begin...
Well, does a Mac or Linux require Anti Virus?
Let me ask you a question, do you hand out your credit card number to anyone who asks? Of course you don't because you have some common sense and realise that some people would take that information and use it for malicious purposes. Mac's and Linux can be compromised, of course, there are not as often targeted as if you are going to write a virus/malware you will pick the most popular platform, but if you are a Mac/Linux user and you don't run AV or expect that your OS is 'immune' then you are part of the problem.
ALL users should run AntiVirus, or at the very least, be aware of the security of their systems, regardless of what platform they are running as their OS. If putting a AV package on Mac/Linux educates users that you should ensure that your system is secure, then absolutely.
Leg Godt!
This is probably just a policy issue. "We've put your AIX / HP-UX / Solaris server in". "What AV does it run?" "Er, it's running AIX / HP-UX / Solaris , we've not installed AV". "But our policy says we have to use product X or product Y to AV protect all our servers". "Yes, but you're not understan....." "Just install AV".
Just don't do stupid things.
The average user doesn't know what's stupid and what is not.
To some extent, AV software is good for inexperienced users. Unfortunately most of these AV pograms have "evolved" to a point where they've become more of a burden than help. That's a real problem if you have to churn out a new-and-improved version every year.
Useful? No, but it looks good in IT policy.
I surf the net and some of the pages aren't exactly the most innocent of pages. I experienced some times that viruses were able to exploit back-doors into my system. It's not often, but it happens. Even with firewalls, system and anti-virus updated there are things that sneak past the defenses. Needless to say, I run Windows. If I were to not surf the web and only be connected to the web for a brief amount of time I would not need anti-virus. But, as I said. I do need it. I actually ran without anti-virus software for a long time, but I stopped after my broadband-computer with 10 Mbit went into zombie-mode.
http://www.clamav.net/ Used this around 5 years back when I was in Uni. I recommended it for the university mail server whch was running linux. Worked pretty well..the number of malware on email dropped to zero in a day..not sure about its effectiveness in the modern day but it is a cross platform with the windows equivalent being immunet (runs the same engine)
F-prot and a long list of others have linux versions. It's useful for email gateways and I've got a spare licence to use the antivirus with knoppix to do malware removal on the laptops that come in with various infections (although a full wipe and reinstall is the only way to be sure).
It really depends upon whether they want software which CAN run on the platform or whether they actually want it deployed on every desktop. There is actual merit in one or two per site - if nothing else they can scan incoming material or network disks for Microsoft compatible malware even if there is no need to actually protect the computers doing the scanning against such incompatible malware.
Deploying it to the entire lot would be the same old story of somebody out of their depth making the choices before anybody with a clue working for them can properly inform them. Tasmania is the lowest population state of Australia do I don't know where the "largest" bit in the summary came from.
How many other organisations in Australia have 40000 workstations or more? Probably the other state education departments (assuming they purchase centrally), a handful of large corporates... maybe a few more, but not a huge amount.
- Chuq
every major vendor has a linux version for MTA's
have a look at a mavisd.conf
The tasmanian devils have a strange communicable cancer that is spread by them biting each others faces. It's an appropriately surreal disease for such creatures that bite things a lot but unfortunately it is driving them towards extinction.
So yes, maybe a virus is too scared of the things and it takes the big C to take them down.
State Education departments typically have large IT fleets due to all the computers in every classroom in every school. RTFA.
- Chuq
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc512587.aspx
>>You can't clean a compromised system by patching it.
>>You can't clean a compromised system by removing the back doors.
>>You can't clean a compromised system by using some "vulnerability remover."
>>You can't clean a compromised system by using a virus scanner.
>>You can't clean a compromised system by reinstalling the operating system over the existing installation.
>>You can't trust any data copied from a compromised system.
>>You can't trust the event logs on a compromised system.
>>You may not be able to trust your latest backup.
>>>>>The only way to clean a compromised system is to flatten and rebuild.
Jesper M. Johansson, Ph.D. [YES, HE'S A DOCTOR], CISSP, MCSE, MCP+I
Security Program Manager
Microsoft Corporation
Since I started using mac os X I immediately purchased and anti virus solution.
After some comparison I got Karspersky and I must admit that it has done a pretty good job till now.
The possibility to detect and remove malware before it spreads further to my co-workers is an important factor in my decision to use an antivirus sw on a platform considered "secure" by default. (if it really is so, I amn't here to judge; although my personal opinion is that no system is really secure and that not using an antivirus due to advertisement from apple or linux opinion groups is worst than silly, it's dangerous).
To protect the Windows computers on the network. But also to protect the Linux computers from Linux specific malware and virus attacks.
These are government schools. They don't have the money to waste putting computers on every desk when the students are not going to be using them in every lesson. They have rooms with computers in them and timetables to organise who can use them and when - there is no need to have one computer per student. That makes many large companies in Australia larger users of desktop computers than the education department of a low population state such as Tasmania. There would be more students in just about any city in the USA.
Wait, so we bash the govement for using windows, for using faulty antivirus software, for not using any antivirus software, for not using open source, for spending too much......
Now we bash them for asking for something SENSIBLE? Just because most linux/os x users dont run it doesn't mean its s a good idea -> Most windows users don't run antivirus software and use I.E. 6......
Now... if they want one. ClamAV does both linux and windows, not sure about OS X though.
- http://www.milkme.co.uk
It's an extra layer to protect a user either from running vulnerable software, or from doing something stupid...
I've seen many windows systems become infected when the users haven't done stupid things, they were browsing perfectly legitimate sites that just happened to have been hacked and got infected without having to do anything else.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
Linux and Mac users risk being victims of phishing attacks and foolishly handing out passwords, just like the rest of us. It's been a long time since corporate antivirus was just about stopping malicious software being installed on a computer.
At least, both Symantec Antivirus and CA ETrust have honest to god linux and mac os x versions - they both use kernel modules/kexts to do realtime scanning, and actually catch linux threats. Sophos does at least linux too.
Commodore 64, Loading up the dance floor!
I seriously tried to contribute something useful to an earlier thread, no chance.
Then I was looking for some politically incorrect snide remark about ex-convicts, no chance.
Here comes my serious take, then: I read TFA, and what I can read into it, with only some interpretation, is that when you buy/install OSX or Linux, you can do so only, when there is a cross-platform AV. If your Windows Anti-Virus also finds the viruses in OSX/Linux.
For Christ's sake, the question here isn't if OSX/Linux need AV or not. No, greenfruitsalad (http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2119134&cid=35997984), your arguments all don't apply.
The hare-brained part of the thing is that OSX/Linux - if they have or can have viruses - will have altogether other exploits than Windows. Where comes the 'cross-platform' into the perspective? I can't see it. The AV-definition for a MTA is cross-platform already (trying to stop any sorts of malware from entering users' mailboxes), to give an example. *-listing is platform-independent as well.
So what was it, that these people are actually asking?? I don't get it.
A lot of compliance audits have requirements that are not OS specific and one of them is having anti-virus (among other things). So a lot of large companies just find it easier to have something that supports all their systems so they don't have to get into an argument on every audit.
Whether it is right or wrong, or a system needs it, isn't the point. Audits can be very expensive and sometimes having those boxes checked can be an easier route to go.
TFA says they want a multiplatform security solution with more than just AV but also antimalware, URL scanning and probably stuff like page source scanning for malicious JavaScript and the like. A Linux or Mac is less prone to malicious executables for now, but what about later when more show up? Just because they're the minority in the OS market, they're growing in popularity and are beginning to come to the attention of the seedy side of the Internet. A general user with admin rights will blindly enter their username and password to confirm the installation of whatever flashy malware toolbar or cursor icon changer that catches their eye, regardless of what OS they're running.* Also, phishing email and websites are fairly OS agnostic and users will enter their bank or credit card info onto fakebank.com's website if given a chance. A URL scanner/blocker that is centrally managed can help minimise the impact of common known phishing sites and also help in targeted phishing attacks customized to the organisation - common ones like email from support@yourschool.blah saying something like "due to a failed mail server maintenance we require you to login and reset your mail credentials here at website blah". Just because you have Mac or Linux users doesn't mean they're immune to social hacking. Speaking of central management, having all your endpoints reporting security information back to one central product makes security easier to mange for you as an IT admin. If you can cleanup infections on Windows remotely, that's great. But now you get reporting of whether Macs and Linux computers are receiving infected files an clean them before they're passed on to Windows computers. Plus, these security suites may also include a host based firewall program so now you can control that in the same console as well regardless of OS. Additionally, due to laws or regulations such as privacy laws or PCI compliance or whatever, some computers might be handling personally identifiable information (student numbers, addresses, birthdates, grades, etc.) and Data Loss Prevention mechanisms must be in place and auditable. Plus do you really want to set a separate new central mangement and reporting solution for all this stuff for every OS? Having worked with several of industry leading solutions I'm not sure if any of them are really fully cross platform - that is to say, not all the functionality that is available on the Windows platform is available on other operating systems, but if you want vendors to sit up and take Mac and Linux on the desktop seriously then movements like these are needed; saying that for my organisation, Mac and Linux are just as important as Windows and if you want my business you, as a vendor, need to support them equally. We should be praising that the Tamanian Dept of Education is promoting minority operating systems to be taken seriously. *I know that the solution is not to give them admin access but Windows is very secure if locked down properly as well. Also since this is the education sector, the IT group probably isn't given the mandate to lock down computers anyways so users very likely have admin rights. Also being the education sector, there are probably multiple IT groups in lots of geographical areas and most are probably under resourced and underfunded.
The OP might have been stretching the truth:
> One of Australia's largest government technology buyers, the Tasmanian Department of Education
With a population of 507K (10% less than Wyoming), Tasmania is not quite top tier in the Government Departments department.
Andrew
This scene on Slashdot is sad. It's funny how people on here say "Antiviruses are useless." and "Linux does't need an antivirus."
Antiviruses are but one part of a defense-in-depth system and while aren't the be-all-end-all of security for a user, it is indeed a very useful item. Patching security vulnerabilities doesn't get rid of the trojans/viruses after the fact.
And it's entirely possible a piece of malware could get on to your system through a zero-day, unless I assume you're running a fully managed SELinux distribution on your desktop, which I doubt.
I was embarrassed recently when the IT department claim a Linux computer in my office was taken over by the Rustock BOT. After checking the ssh log, I realized it was a coworker who uses it for code repository and SOCK5 Proxy as he works abroad from China. He has a compromised Windows machine. To the best of my knowledge, AV doesn't really catch these stuff which are more and more common now a day. Anyone has recommendations?
The only possible interpretation of any research whatever in the 'social sciences' is: some do, some don't
My impression was that BitDefender was the only free live-CD commercial scanner, the other commercial A/V live-CD's are available only for paying customers.
If I were to upgrade from using only free A/V on my Windows boxes, I would consider paying BitDefender, if only because they are providing such a useful free service to everyone (disclosure: I've paid for Kaspersky in the past).
Hey there! I'm just stopping by to make sure you rediscover your drunken ramble in the morning :) Enjoy your hangover, Sir.
ESET would fill that bill, and in my experience is the only one with a small enough footprint to keep from pissing off Linux and OSX users *having* to use AV.
http://www.eset.com/us/business/enterprise
http://www.eset.com/us/business/why-eset
I don't work them, and am using the product after trying McAfee, and Virus Barrier X on my Mac.
Some days it's just not worth
chewing through my restraints.
Sound familiar?
This "evolution" is largely down to the commercial development process... You need people to buy new versions, which means you have to add new fancy features to tempt people in, wether those features are needed or not... And then to deprecate the old versions and move people away from them, even if they were perfectly adequate.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
Android smartphones run on linux.
Android smartphones are used by office workers and integrated with the company IT system.
Android smartphones are vulnerable to malicious apps
Therefore, antivirus or 'anti-malware' for linux is badly needed
OS X and Linux computers are most vulnerable from Trojans, so I am curious to know how well ClamAV deals with those.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
I don't know why they are complaining ... all they need to do to satisfy the bigwigs is to install ClamAV on Mac and GNU/Linux. It's free, reliable and works; unlike other third party anti-virus applications out there (namely, Windows apps).
Why isn't Tasmania using BSD? Why go Penguin or Turtleneck when you can go Devil ?
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
ESET Windows, Mac OSX and Linux support for both desktops and servers.
http://xkcd.com/463/
Inheritance is the sincerest form of nepotism.
The best way to deflect the idea that it is only Windows that has the basic vulnerability is to ensure that Linux and OSX users are forced to run AV too.
That way they can claim that the total cost of ownership on these platforms is ( artificially) higher.
It is also likely a case of the person working that factor then adding support to the lie by persuading his/her colleagues with the classic FUD:
"What if you omit this, and a virus that attacks these other OS infect us? Do you want the blame?"
What is actually needed is some education to users about best practices, detection of infections and how to establish a safety and testing regimen.
Maurice W. Hilarius Voice: (778) 347-9907
First they can work on getting viruses to run correctly under WINE, then get WINE support for Windows AV software.
I am the unwilling control for my Origin.
We recently went through a PCI audit. The auditor wanted to make sure that we had antivirus software for our IBM System i. At first we thought he was crazy, but we discovered that such software DOES exist. However, it does not work quite the same way as on a Windows machine. The idea is that infected files, transferred from Windows PCs, can still reside on the System i, even though they cannot do any harm to that system. So they still need to be scanned. The same holds true for Linux and OS X machines. Those systems may not be subject to infection from viruses, but they can still store infected files, and these need to be scanned.
Proverbs 21:19
I consider that sort of software to be, at best, of extremely dubious usefulness, and at worst, almost as much a negative as having a virus. Why anybody would want to run it is a triumph of marketing over substance.
I think that things like ClamAV are pretty useful, largely because they do the scanning on something before it even gets close to the target computer. I think that they will still miss the most harmful stuff, but at least they are not operating in an environment that's basically already compromised and not slowing down the user's computer to do it.
Which makes it all the more amusing (in a cynical, schadenfreude sort of way) that solutions like ClamAV are out of the running. *sigh*
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop
Sophos makes AV for Windows, Mac OS and Linux. AFAIK it's all able to be controlled from the enterprise console package too.
"A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
Yes, we need anti-virus software, mainly to keep the lawyers happy. Actually, Linux does needs good security monitoring to protect from break-in exploits. The lawyers and businessmen just don't understand the difference between that and anti-virus, so they are sort of right.
Antivirus scanners provide a false sense of security with no real benefit. We've got pretty nice workstations at my work, but are saddled with McAfee by corporate IT mandate. Which regularly turns them into unresponsive pigs.
Better to properly lock down user accounts and teach users proper data hygiene. So we can use those resources to accomplish work instead of not-work.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Seriously though, it's far easier to spread malicious software by tricking someone into clicking on a link and installing malicious software themselves. Or giving up their passwords to online assets. You really can't automate defending against every one of those attacks -- at some point you're going to have to rely on the user to exhibit a healthy amount of skepticism. Ultimately that is your first line of defense.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Read up on immunology and specifically the term "herd immunity".
It's not just whether or not you are resistant to a virus, it is also if you help or hinder the spread. It takes surprisingly few non-vaccinated people in a population for an epidemic to get started. Because the spread of viruses, both biologically and in IT, is a numbers game. If the virus finds > 1.0 victims in its lifetime, it will spread and the number of infected hosts will steadily increase. Only if you manage to push down the infection rate to not even on hosts that are immune.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Read up on immunology and specifically the term "herd immunity".
It's not just whether or not you are resistant to a virus, it is also if you help or hinder the spread. It takes surprisingly few non-vaccinated people in a population for an epidemic to get started. Because the spread of viruses, both biologically and in IT, is a numbers game. If the virus finds > 1.0 victims in its lifetime, it will spread and the number of infected hosts will steadily increase. Only if you manage to push down the infection rate to < 1.0 can you eliminate it.
Anti-virus on a Mac or Linux system does not only protect the system itself, its purpose also is to protect other, for example windows, systems. You Linux may be immune to the Word macro virus, but if it can detect and kill it, that windows system you send it to doesn't get infected.
If you know anything about how stuff spreads in a population, you positively don't want the stuff in your environment, not even on hosts that are immune.
(edit: posting a 2nd time because /. stupid "plain old text" eats everything after the "lesser than" sign if you don't escape it...)
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
The DoD's reasoning is pretty straightforward. There are few to no "in the wild" viruses or trojans for Linux/Mac (several worms though), but data rarely stays in one platform in an interconnected world. We put virus protection on every platform so that whenever a document or program is introduced on the network it gets scanned. That way if it has malware in it, even Windows malware on a Linux/Mac system, it's caught early. Just because I first put the document on a Linux system doesn't mean it's going to stay on a Linux system.
Exactly. 99% of what my Linux boxes scan for are Windows malware (viruses, worms, trojans, etc). I prefer to scan for such things on a box that is not succeptible to most things. Since websites, USB keys, and portable media, bittorrent, etc., mean virus can come into almost any system on the network, all machines shoudl be scanning for all viruses, whatever the platform.
Home users can do what they want, but in any larger networked environment where you don't have absolute control, this is absolutely neccessary.
You are in a maze of twisted little posts, all alike.
As far as protection from linux virus's you would be wasting your time. Not so much entirely because of a better security model, but because of a lack of virus's in the wild, and a lack of spreading capabilities within them. Odds are if you have a virus on a linux system, it was most likely crafted for your system and specifically targeted, and targeted/custom written virus's won't be stopped by traditional AVs.
Probably. I don't run anti-virus, but considering the fact I have Flash Player installed, I probably should.
My mind will warp a little bit the first time I have to rebuild my linux box from an infection, but it's only a matter of time.
I went to eat some animal crackers and the box said, "Do not eat if seal is broken." I opened the box and sure enough..
As the subject says. That is the only one I know of that has versions for Unix, Liunx, BSD, Mac OS X, and Windows.
We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
Has AV solutions for all platforms.
--- Do you believe in the day?
Our solution was to tape a floppy disk of McAfee inside our HP-UX server. The boss laughed, and checked the box "install AV".
No, you must have anti-virus software or assume your computer is compromised. The anti-virus software on my mac catches things all the time.
I sometimes solder new contacts onto flash drives when a friend/client has broken the end off (usually by smashing the flash drive with a chair while it is plugged it).
Sometimes when I insert flash drives in to my mac (just to get the stuff on to a new flash drive or CD) the anti virus warns that there is a (mac) virus on it. With out the anti-virus, I might have run the program to see if it is important to copy it.
This is clever, but before you mod up SanityInAnarchy's post for its cleverness, please remember that describing Symantec's business model as though its your own idea, is more along the lines of plaigarism than insight.
(Sorry, I couldn't resist. Nothing against you, SanityInAnarchy.)
They are most likely doing this because they believe it will simplify licensing and "save" money by buying in bulk. The problem is that Mac OS and Linux really don't need anti-virus on the desktop (and likely won't for the length of this contract) so their requirement for this will limit their selection of in-essence windows desktop anti-virus and server anti-virus selection (a market that has a lot more options than those with Linux and OSX desktop versions as well). I would prefer a better solutions in each area than settling for a single vendor just because they support some edge cases (Linux/Mac Desktop) the better ones don't. Additionally, free alternatives (clamav, etc) provide a fallback solution should Linux / Mac OS desktops need AV protection during the contract.
:)
A few posters have mentioned that having anti-virus on Linux and OSX workstations may help the Windows PCs avoid getting infected. This may be true but for the cost (in quality of vendor selection) you are getting very little return for that benefit. I suspect they have very few Mac and Linux desktops currently (this RFP screams of a Windows IT department). If they do have a large LInux / OSX desktop environment there are better ways to implement the virus scanning than adding it to all these desktops (server side real time scanning, etc).
If I were a betting man I would place money on the decision makers being windows admins that feel they are overworked. This type of RFP is the easiest for the IT management to create (basically they delegate the entire problem to a single vendor). Having consulted for fortune 500s for over 20 years, that is the environment I have seen that typically produces RFPs like this. You rarely see these coming from true heterogeneous environments (a substantial mix of non-windows infrastructure). That said, I don't know their specific motives so this is just a hunch
As a system admin and Information Assurance officer I myself run windows, linux ( virtualized) , and OS X. I use 3rd party malware detection on all 3 systems that are signature based. They are very much needed. It's silly for average users to think that just because they are running OSX which is a less targeted operating system that they aren't targeted. In fact... safari the OSX default browser ( which I like just because it's GUI is intutive to me) is probably the least secure of all the major web browsers ( if you look at the stats at each pwn to own competetion it gets busted the fastest). There are known OSX exploits and many of the same things apply. Man in the middle attacks, SQL injections, sneak ack attacks, all forms of malware... still apply. Just because you are using a specific operating system don't get lulled into a false sense of security.
teach users proper data hygiene Totally impossible. They don't care and you can't make them care.
Totally easy: 1: Here's not how to be an idiot. 2: If you're an idiot, you're fired without severance or health benefits.
Can you tell me how I can fire my boss? There's basically nobody above him in the organization, so I'm just wondering how you'd apply your totally easy method in this case?
There are also the cases where an employee is main rain-maker for the company, but hasn't a clue how to keep from getting malware on their computer. A law firm is not going to fire an attorney who brings in $30 million a year just because they keep getting malware on their pc, for example.
Putting moderation advice in your
APK
P.S.=> Ah, I just GOTTA do it: as I stand before "all of Linuxdom" here on /. challenging you, immediately after BLOWING YOUR "champion" Agreus... apk
It's amazing the humiliation that some people require in order to maintain a sense of normality. I'm hesitant to give you what you need as it might just encourage you to come back for more. Rather than searching for this sort of unhealthy, negative interaction, you ought to seek medical attention.
Tasmanian
Department of
Education
Virus
Identification on
Linux
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Personally, If I were to put an anti-virus product on Linux servers, I'd choose a different vendor that what was running on the Windows desktops. The idea being that if the desktop AV fails to catch a virus, there's at least some that a different vendor's product might catch it.
Competition Good, Monopoly Bad.
So is it evolution or devolution in IT age(historical prespective)- Linux users have to pay for Windows users who ignorantly choose a stupid OS. I did quit one of the biggest city's IT department in disgust because they wanted to put antivirus on Linux servers. Call me biased - I immediately loose respect for a person who chooses to implement a solution based on Windows and also for the persons who put a proprietery app on Linux and give root privileges to it. For me it becomes a parasite infested Linux system.
Since they are McAfee and Symantec they hardly count for one anti-virus package between them on any OS. Use Kaspersky, Trend, Eset NOD32, F-Prot, Comodo, or anything, please anything, other than those two bloated pieces of poultry dung.
So you can detect (and potentially clean) Windows viruses that end up on your servers or are forwarded through your Mac's email before it needs to be detected and increases the load on your Windows boxes. Yes, this is a problem. And AV vendors have been offering this feature for years. Why is this a Slashdot story?
That is all.
And once upon a time, most people rode around in cars without seatbelts.
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
I run linux and I have had viruses. ClamAV caught a lot of email attachment viruses and such. ClamAV quarantined them. I suspect that they really only run on windows, but at least I didnt forward them on. Also, if you use USB you can get viruses on those devices too. As I did at a community services center with free internet. I told the sysadmin about it... but a week later I went in and I got it again.
Anyhow... I just wanted to point out that Linux does get viruses. Although the majority (all?) appear to target windoz.
I don't think I had a virus actually run on Linux... although if I did, it was really good and didnt reveal itself.
I've been using Windows since 2.0, never had a virus / malware.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
http://www.ossec.net/ with central management on locked down machines would be more helpful in detecting anomalous behavior and security issues on the systems. Its also free so no wasted tax payer money on unneeded software.