Who here used/uses Linux and how good it it compared to say Windows 7? I have never used Linux so know very little about it. Does Avast work well with it?
Actually, quite a few around here use Linux to varying degrees. From a primary operating system choice, like me, to just “visiting”, or a secondary OS.
A word of advice - before you get too far into your comparison questions, please read this, it’ll give a pretty good perspective on the significant differences between the closed, and open source communities…
Linux is NOT Windows
http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm
And, to answer your other question, yes, avast! offers an on demand scanner option for Linux. Check the avast! home page for a link to the product.
Edit:
Linux as primary OS since 2007 and only OS since 2009- so I can only tell you it’s as good as XP SP3 (which was a good OS).
Haven’t used an anti-virus for years.
An anti-virus program on a Linux home system is pretty much superfluous.
Have you found any real benefits over Windows OS?
An anti-virus program on a Linux home system is pretty much superfluous.in 2006 there was 863 known malware samples for Linux...i would guess that number is higher in 2011
I’ve tried linux (ubuntu), and quite liked it - but sadly it never survived more than two program updates without developing some issue or other - probably I didn’t spend enough time getting to know it.
Mostly the free software available: on Windows I was always using “borrowed” installation CD’s or ancient free versions from computer magazine give-away’s or cracked software. Now I use Open Office, the Gimp, Kompozer…
On this particular machine, a benefit I noticed was boot up and shut down times: Windows got to a point where it was taking 10 minutes to boot up and shut down. But this is an old computer (8 years) so maybe MS has fixed that issue by now.
Of which, in almost five years of using Linux, I have encountered precisely zero.
If windows 7 on my computer was to ever get a very bad virus on it ever then i would switch to ubuntu linux.
If you want stability in Ubuntu, stick to the long term releases and don’t update to a new one for 3-6 months after it’s released, by which time most of the bugs will have been knocked out.
Or give Debian (Stable) a go. (Ubuntu is based on Debian Unstable- Debian goes unstable>Testing>Stable).
There was one piece of Linux malware which I might conceivably have been affected by, but my investigations proved that an anti-virus program would actually not have protected me.
http://dontsurfinthenude.blogspot.com/2010/07/how-useful-is-anti-virus-in-linux-part.html
yea…but i guess that also depends on the user…how/what/where they are on the net?
i have one comp that i use for all sample hunting/submitting…
hundreds of samples are inside that machine every week but i have still not managed to get infected ;D
Well I’m certainly not on crack sites or peer-to-peer networks downloading dodgy executables that claim to unlock Windows programs.