Linux doesn't need an antivirus. If you still want an antivirus, Avast
is available from
www.avast.com/.../...-avast-for-linux-edition.html

I don't recommend anyone bet their life on that assertion. Let's not
forget the RTM Internet Worm of 1988; see:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_worm>

It infected and spread among BSD and SunOS systems.

Consider all the security patches we constantly receive for our Linux
distros; those aren't being issued just to keep us busy updating our
systems for the fun of it.

And the nasty DNS problem (cache poisoning) earlier this year most
assuredly hasn't been corrected on all DNS servers yet.

Linux's share of the computer market means that we don't have as much
vulnerability as Windows, but that could change as Linux becomes more
popular.

Perhaps, but one could also argue that the reason all those security
updates happen on a daily basis is the reason one doesn't need virus
protection. And perhaps those problems did exist. But it is a real easy
fix when dealing with Linux, simply rebuild your profile and the virus
is gone. In Windows you may have to go to lengths such as reformatting
to get rid of a virus, and even that is not a guaranteed fix.

There are more than viruses with which to contend: worms, trojans,
denial of service, etc. Reading the descriptions reveals there are
potentially a lot of holes still in Linux for various exploits which
would not be considered a virus by common definition.

For those using FireFox, how many have updated to 2.0.0.17 yet? These
items were fixed in 2.0.0.17 released September 23, 2008:

XBM image uninitialized memory reading
resource: traversal vulnerabilities
BOM characters stripped from JavaScript before execution
Crashes with evidence of memory corruption (rv:1.9.0.2/1.8.1.17)
Privilege escalation via XPCnativeWrapper pollution
Forced mouse drag
Privilege escalation using feed preview page and XSS flaw
nsXMLDocument::OnChannelRedirect() same-origin violation
UTF-8 URL stack buffer overflow

Notice the privilege escalations. That's why I self-install any
critical (to me) apps and don't wait for the repos to be updated.
Even my 6-year-old Red Hat 9 is presently running 2.0.0.17 though
there's no support from RH for that release anymore.

> And perhaps those problems did exist. But it is a real easy
> fix when dealing with Linux, simply rebuild your profile and the
> virus is gone.

I don't follow what you mean by "rebuild your profile". Would you
please clarify?

> In Windows you may have to go to lengths such as reformatting
> to get rid of a virus, and even that is not a guaranteed fix.

Very true if reformatting with MS tools esp. on XP and earlier.
Look back to Roy's recent article about his wife's XP system.
I had to get a thorough low-level formatter to help a friend
with his XP system that was similarly infected. Yet in all
these years with Win95, 98, 98SE, NT, Win2K, XP, and now Vista
I've never had any infection whatsoever on any of my desktops
or laptops and my laptops have been jacked-in to scores of
client's networks and I heavily browse the web. Go figure, and
I'm presently running Win2K-SP4, WinXP-SP3 and Vista-SP1.

And yet with all those possible things to contend with, that is still
the reason that Linux is updated on a daily basis. Now what I mean by
rebuilding your profile, is say for example if a Linux machine did
happen to get infected, which I still contend is virtually impossible,
all it can infect is one user. It cannot infect the entire computer
simply based on how Linux is set up. Now create a new user, and delete
the infected one. Virus or any other infection is now history.

But that's assuming it's a user that somehow became infected.

Suppose you're running DNS (many do on even their home Linux boxes)
and you get the cache poisoning because bind wasn't patched. That
can happen even if noone's ever logged into the system.

If one's system is exposed to the global 'Net, almost anything can
happen. Secondary stateful firewalls are de rigeur -- I use a
SonicWall appliance and have installed 100s at client sites over the
past decade plus.

Nothing's impossible. Recall the Internet Worm I mented a few
articles back. Stuff happens.

Well then that is a point that I would unfortunately have to
say I know nothing about as for the most part the schematics of the
internet, DNS and the like, are over my head. As for internet, I know,
type in address and your browser goes there. I do use a firewall,
however basic usage is as far as I get with internet. Though, even at
that, I still fail to see how it would damage the home user in the long
run at all. Perhaps you could educate me on that point? Would be
appreciated.