• Aniki 🌱🌿@lemm.ee
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    7 months ago

    Not having to worry about antivirus software, by itself, is reason enough to use Linux. That’s not to say that there aren’t but the vectors are so much more obscure than Winblows.

      • frogmint@beehaw.org
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        7 months ago

        Read that Wikipedia page from yourself. Anti-virus is recommended by the quoted Scott Granneman for Samba servers, NFS servers, and Linux mail servers. For desktop use, Linux has a clear advantage compared to Windows.

        The use of software repositories significantly reduces any threat of installation of malware

        As long as you keep your packages up to date, don’t install random packages found online, and don’t run random scripts, desktop Linux is very secure. No one is using a zero-day to target your home office computer behind your router’s firewall unless you’re a high value target.

        • Aniki 🌱🌿@lemm.ee
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          7 months ago

          Samba servers, NFS servers, and Linux mail servers.

          Precisely because you’d be scanning for Windows viruses on those mounted drives and emails! :-D

          • frogmint@beehaw.org
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            7 months ago

            Yeah probably lol. If it’s a Linux virus that you can detect with a scan, then there’s probably already a patch ready (or coming very soon) to fix the vulnerability. I could be wrong on this though.

        • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
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          7 months ago

          As long as you keep your packages up to date, don’t install random packages found online, and don’t run random scripts, desktop Linux is very secure.

          Same with windows, Android, iOS, etc.

          On the other hand, Windows users almost have to install software from the wider internet.

          Not sure when you last used windows, but there’s a built in store for most mainstream software, and I’m sure most games come from steam.

          Yes, you can download your random exe files, which will trigger warning prompts when you try to run them.

          So, failing all warnings, it’s possible to install malware on windows. The same could be said for any OS.

          If you want to keep Windows secured like Linux, you would create a non-admin user account, which will not install or change system settings/files, without the admin (root) access.

          That said, I don’t disable the built-in antivirus or firewall in Windows. 😬

          • frogmint@beehaw.org
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            7 months ago

            Same with windows, Android, iOS, etc.

            Windows is the only OS listed where you almost need to break those rules. You can’t easily keep software updated and basically need to install software from outside the store. Only winget and choco are promising in this regard, but these are power user tools. MacOS, and even many Linux distros, ship with a graphical app store that keeps packages updated.

            On Android and iOS, most users can get away with never installing an app outside the Play Store or App Store. The app store keeps the apps updated.

            Not sure when you last used windows, but there’s a built in store for most mainstream software,

            Unless all you’re doing is web browsing, the Windows Store doesn’t contain nearly enough software. Users of Windows need to be used to installing software outside of the store. How many Windows PC’s have never run an exe or msi?

            and I’m sure most games come from steam.

            Perfect example. I need to find, download, and run an exe from a website to install Steam. Having this be a normal procedure that a user is used to doing is horrible for security.