Moderator.... Let's name this one : "Jack Of No Trades and Master
Buffoon ~
'Note to new Linux users: No antivirus needed' "
"Jack Of No Trades and Master Buffoon ~ 'Note to new Linux users: No
antivirus needed' " [ouch !] .....
[*Usenet read message at bottom]
Note to new Linux users: No antivirus needed
By Joe Barr on February 26, 2007 (8:00:00 AM)
http://www.linux.com/articles/60208
[ My Comments : Where have we all heard this before ? LOL... THiS is
a
Jack-Of-No-Trades and Master Buffoon ]
One of the most common questions I hear new Linux users ask is "What
program
should I use for virus protection?" Many of them lose faith in me as
a
source of security information when I reply, "None." But you really
don't
need to fear malware on your new platform, thanks to the way Linux is
built.
Savvy Windows users have to watch their virus checkers as closely as
the
head nurse in the ICU keeps an eye on patient monitors. Often, the
buzz in
the Windows security world is about which protection-for-profit firm
was the
first to discover and offer protection for the malware du jour -- or
should
I say malware de l'heure? The only thing better than having backed
the
winning Super Bowl team come Monday morning at the office coffeepot
is
having the virus checker you use be the one winning the malware
sweepstakes
that weekend.
If a rogue program finds a crack in your Windows armor, paying $200
per
infection to have your machine scrubbed and sanitized by the local
goon^H^H^H^H geek squad not only helps to reinforce the notion that
you have
to have malware protection, but that it has to be the right
protection, too.
The malware firms are aware of this, and all of their advertising
plays upon
the insecurity fears of Windows users and the paranoia that results.
Chronic
exposure and vulnerability to malware has conditioned Windows users
to
accept this security tax.
It's no wonder, then, that when Windows users are finally able to
break
their chains and experience freedom on a Linux desktop, they stare at
me in
disbelief when I tell them to lay that burden down. They are reluctant
to
stop totin' that load. They have come to expect to pay a toll for a
modicum
of security.
I try to explain that permissions on Linux make such tribute
unnecessary.
Without quibbling over the definitions of viruses and trojans, I tell
them
that neither can execute on your machine unless you explicitly give
them
permission to do so.
Permissions on Linux are universal. They cover three things you can do
with
files: read, write, and execute. Not only that, they come in three
levels:
for the root user, for the individual user who is signed in, and for
the
rest of the world. Typically, software that can impact the system as a
whole
requires root privileges to run.
Microsoft designed Windows to enable outsiders to execute software on
your
system. The company justifies that design by saying it enriches the
user
experience if a Web site can do "cool" things on your desktop. It
should be
clear by now that the only people being enriched by that design
decision are
those who make a buck providing additional security or repairing the
damage
to systems caused by it.
Malware in Windows Land is usually spread by email clients, browser
bits, or
IM clients, which graciously accept the poisoned fruit from others,
then
neatly deposit it on their masters' systems, where malware authors
know it
will likely be executed and do their bidding -- without ever asking
permission.
Some malware programs require that you open an attachment. Others
don't even
require that user error. By hook or by crook, malware on Windows often
gets
executed, infecting the local system first, then spreading itself to
others.
What a terrible neighborhood. I'm glad I don't live there.
On Linux, there is built-in protection against such craft. Newly
deposited
files from your email client or Web browser are not given execute
privileges. Cleverly renaming executable files as something else
doesn't
matter, because Linux and its applications don't depend on file
extensions
to identify the properties of a file, so they won't mistakenly
execute
malware as they interact with it.
Whether newcomers grok permissions or not, I try to explain the bottom
line
to them: that because they have chosen Linux, they are now free of
having to
pay either a security tax up front to protect themselves from malware,
or
one after the fact to have their systems sterilized after having been
infected.
So Linux is bulletproof? No. Bulletproof is one of the last stages of
drunkenness, not a state of security. Linux users, like users on
every
operating system, must always be aware of security issues. They must
act
intelligently to keep their systems safe and secure. They should not
run
programs with root privileges when they are not required, and they
should
apply security patches regularly.
Misleading claims and false advertising by virus protection rackets to
the
contrary, you simply don't need antivirus products to keep your Linux
box
free of malware.
--------/.
MODERATOR: See...
AVG Anti-Virus Professional Edition 7.5 for Linux/FreeBSD
http://www.grisoft.com/doc/31/us/crp/4?prd=avl
List of Linux computer viruses
>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...mputer_viruses
Trend Micro Linux Antispyware
Trend Micro InterMute Unveils Linux Anti-Spyware Software
http://www.intermute.com/press_relea...il_040305.html
THIS is the same exact arguement they used with mobile Palm and
Windows
pocket computers....
""Misleading claims and false advertising by virus protection rackets
to the
contrary, you simply don't need antivirus products to keep your Linux
box
free of malware.""
SAME EXACT arguement.... Who are these people ? They are obviously
the
enemies of the Security community and computer users at large. THAT
has to
be that obvious to everyone. I have been a member at several security
groups
and their owners joined in with telling me to shut up - backing up
their
members who said "Macs and Linux are safer than Windows and they don't
get
infected..." One group right to mind is "Spyware Yahoo Group". Another
is
PPCUniverse Yahoo Group. And yet another is our local Palm User Group
(PUG)
in Philadelphia PA.
Same exact arguements, and I was publically ridiculed by them in
their
groups. They, and all the fools who listen to them, all end up in
community
security help groups and forums - even at the actual software vendor
forums
who they called every curse word under the sun as you see in the
above
article as an example - EATING CROW.
The greatest mystery are not the infections - but all of you in the
consumer
public who listen to these fools and trash like this !!!! Why do you
listen
to them ??? It baffles our mind. I was shocked to have just come
across this
article - realizing obviously the damage it did - authors being like
suicidal fatalists like the 'Reverend Jim' or 'Denver Doomsday Cult'
or the
Haley Boppers dead in San Diego. Who are you that you listen to people
like
this ??? We all wonder and we are all here offering a hand and some
truth.
Sorry you allow yourselves to be deceived. Step up to the Computer
Security
Pub and get a tall cool one !!!
_________________
*****Linux-Ducks Yahoo Groups Owner*****
http://www.bluecollarpc.net/linux-ducks.html
SOURCE: http://bluecollarpc.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=392
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:01 am Post subject:
JackOfNoTrades,MasterBuffoon:Linux users:No antivirus needed
[*Usenet read message at bottom... BEFORE all of you Usenet weirdos
opem your foolish mouths about "Hey Dude this is not antivirus group -
it is a sphyware group dufus"... I suggest you see the part about
"Trend Micro releases Antispyware for Linux OS" and say to yourself
like others reading this (we wish you were normal) like others readin
this saying to themselves "Wow there is antispyware software out for
Linux by the big name companies, I didn't know that. Everyoine at
Usenet and other similar places say there is no such thing as Linux
malware and all big name companies sell snake oil especially to
windows users who have to be idiots or they wouldn't one be on windows
or two buying snake oil for it". Period. Goob bye. Shut Up. No Trolls.
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