Malware scan for PureOs

Hardware
1

Hi guys,

I hope you are doing good. I am new to linux and am running the PureOS software. I was wondering if there is a way I can scan the OS for potential malware or any other kind of breaches?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

2

Hi. Hope you’re fine, too.

Most Linux users probably don’t have malware scanners installed. One of the reasons is that desktop Linux is still a niche market. Not only for normal software vendors but also for malware programmers. Existing malware often can only be successful if the user makes a mistake or the system is misconfigured.

There is at least one open source AV system: clam AV. It is told not to be very good. I think it only searches for static malware signatures. In a world where malware proceeds constant evolution and mutations this approach can only have limited success.

Probably there are some commercial scanners. That can be useful if you have a Linux fileserver serving windows clients. I am not aware if there are free versions of those.

The German computer magazine C’t annually provides a Linux live system with multiple malware scanners call “DesinfeC’t”. So you can boot this system instead of the installed system and scan the storage. It gives signature updates for a year.

Generally there are a couple of approaches to make a Linux system safer, like SELinux.

3

Thanks a lot for your reply, I will check into DesinfeC’t’’ and also SELinux.

4

I use ClamTk (the GUI for ClamAv) all the time. It automatically updates its virus signature catalog. You can run it on schedule or on demand, scan the entire file system or a single folder or file, scan recursively or not, and scan hidden files as well. I usually just point it to my home folder and scan that.

Even if Linux doesn’t get infected easily, it’s possible to pass contagion on to your Windows-using correspondents.

5

that’s only the case if the said ‘contagion’(s) are written for BOTH Linux AND M$-0S … most of the time they are T A R G E T E D … so NO ! :mask:

6

Couldn’t malware written for MS arrive by email on your Linux computer and then accidentally get forwarded to a MS user’s email? Probably a long shot, though…

7

depends what e-mail service you use and what settings you put on your account.

NEVER click or forward something that looks ‘fishy’ :sweat_smile: … better yet don’t even dare OPEN something from a sender you were not expecting an e-mail from … BE VERY SUSPICIOUS of everything that enters your inbox without some form of prior contact with you … also account separation is very important

8

Thanks, just installed it and used it. :slight_smile:

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9

By the way, I have tested ClamTK on the L5. The native PureOS version and the flatpak are both still too buggy to use. Maybe one of them will work better when Byzantium is rolled out.
FYI.

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10

You could try running clamAV by CLI, which I think is easy. If that works well the “bugs” must be part of clamTK.

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