Re: [opensuse] Who said Linux doesnot get Virus infections

James Knott wrote:
Bottom line, you're ignoring all the technical differences that make
Windows a wide open target, in comparison to Linux or Unix. No amount
of dumb users will overcome that fact. Then, good practices will go
further to reduce that risk and also it is virtually impossible for a
virus to get started, without some very deliberate action on the part of
the user. Also, some distros make it plain to users that running as
root is a dumb thing. In Windows, many apps require admin rights, just
to function. So if you're running such an app, any malware you get,
will have access to the entire system. On the other hand, with Linux,
if you need root privileges, you are specifically asked for them or
denied. This means that it's extremely difficult for malware to do
significant damage.



Okay I know not everyone likes the use of wikipedia as a reference, but
from their computer virus entry
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus) this is what they state:

"A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a
computer without permission or knowledge of the user. The original may
modify the copies or the copies may modify themselves, as occurs in a
metamorphic virus. A virus can only spread from one computer to another
when its host is taken to the uninfected computer, for instance by a user
sending it over a network or carrying it on a removable medium such as a
floppy disk, CD, USB drive or by the Internet. Additionally, viruses can
spread to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a
file system that is accessed by another computer. Viruses are sometimes
confused with computer worms and Trojan horses."

I think people are confusing virus with Trojan. From my old PC support
days, most of the virii that were in the wild were tied to Office
documents, or existed on boot sectors of floppies and hard drives.
Nothing to "execute" there. I think it would be pretty easy for a virus
to exist on linux systems. There is no requirement that it destroy the
system, no requirement that it has root privileges, nor any requirement
that it affects more than one person. All it takes is OpenOffice to have
a hole that can be utilized, or Thunderbird, or Kmail or any application
that most desktop linux users would use. That would allow the user to be
infected, and to attempt to affect others. Sounds like a virus to me.
But yes it would be restricted to the privileges that that user has. But
nothing stops a linux desktop user from launching a bunch of process' that
would make it as much of a zombie machine as a desktop windows box.

A Trojan, requires user intervention to execute or launch. And again,
thats restricted to the privileges that user has. But there is no reason
this cannot exist on a Linux desktop. Again, what are the windows zombie
machines really doing, does not being root on a linux desktop really
prevent you from doing many of those things?

A worm, moves of its own volition, no requirement that it be a user
launching a program or anything. There is no reason to say that Linux is
not vulnerable to these at all. (And yes I know no one was saying that
Linux was, just mentioning the difference between this and a virus).

Michael



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