I can see on en.wikipedia that clamav rated pretty bad in 2022. But do we have a better alternative for Linux? I can see that those on the peak of effectivity for Windows, like Avast, Eset, and Sophos, don't have a solution for Linux. (maybe they had in the past, but not at the moment)
I could be mistaken , but I know clamav as a "mail gateway virus scanner".
The writer of that article is probably not aware of this and is comparing apples to oranges.
(Do avast, eset and sophos even have any mail gateway virus scan software ? I would be surprised if they have)
Its original purpose was to be installed on a linux mailserver to scan for windows viruses in mails destined for window users, not to scan the mailserver host itself for linux viruses.
As far as I know there is no virusscanner for Linux because there is no real virus threat. There may be a couple of viruses for linux but they have a hard time to survive in the wild. (that is: if they ever enter the wild anyway).
My info might be a bit outdated so things could have changed in the meanwhile, but I don't think I'm way off.
If you want to protect yourself from malware, try to search for rootkit revealers and other malware tools. Virae are the least of your worries.
2 Likes
I always understood ClamAV scanned for Windows viruses that could be passed on if you share files or USB drives with a Windows user. They can't affect Linux but can hide out in a file and be passed on. The only time I use ClamAV is if I share files on a USB drive with a Windows user. In 17 years I have never found a Windows virus on my PC or a USB drive. Still I do it for the security of the other person. Best practice.
3 Likes
Well, I went from this tutorial to clamTk and from clamTk back to ClamAV. I understand that ClamAV's main purpose is somewhere else, but it came to be used on the system, too.