Open source Anti Virus...

General Forums Off-topic Chat
1

Recently, when I was installing Blender 2.71, it was detected as a virus by (AVG and Avast, free versions.)

I’m wondering if we can have a brief discussion about open source anti virus programs. Are you using them? How effective are they? Who knows, it might benefit many of us in the long run.

I’ve known of this one, but it seems ineffective.

http://www.clamwin.com/

I’ve just recently discovered this one,

http://www.netgate.sk/products/amiti-antivirus/

but there seems to be very little reviews about it. However, it does have a real-time memory shield (so it says) unlike Clamwin.

What do you guys use?

2

I honestly don’t know how an Open Source anti-virus could even work as a concept.

A would be virus maker can just download the code and learn how to circumvent it, it’s one of those rarer cases where FOSS would just fall flat.

I use AVG myself, had no problems with viruses in Win7 (in part because it’s also more secure then WinXP ever was).

3

clamsentinel supposed to give realtime scan http://sourceforge.net/projects/clamsentinel/

4

The relationship between virus and antivirus software is always that of an ongoing arms race even when the source is closed. I’m not sure how much easier having the source open makes it for potential attackers but GNU/Linux, being an entire operating system, has faired pretty well in the security department.

5

That’s because the market share of Linux among consumers barely registers in terms of the PC and Mobile markets (it’s basically security through obscurity and it’s not really something to be proud about if you’re one of those ‘year of Linux’ proclaimers).

Virus and Malware makers have little to gain by targeting systems like Ubuntu and Mint, it’d be the same with circumventing FOSS anti-virus since few people even know such products exist.

6

Avast, forever :yes: