Do I need Antivirus on Ubuntu Mate? An Update is available but it does not take update

It is you and only you who decides.

I know for sure that a lot of people do not use any antivirus on their Linux desktops and feel themselves pretty safe.

1 Like

You do not need an antivirus on Linux for Linux's sake.

If you handle storing/transferring files used on Windows machines, then you could use an antivirus to keep those Windows users safe. However, if you control said Windows machines, and already have an antivirus there, then it might just be redundant to have yet another one on Linux.

2 Likes

Hello

It's complicated.

You see it depends what you use your computer for and how you use it to do those things.

It also depends upon other things which should not be discussed on an open forum.

Running an anti malware program may be a good idea - but some browser manufacturers would tell you they consider that your anti-malware program will cancel/override security features they built into their browser.

To work well anti-malware programs have to go deep into your system as "trusted" agents.

Can GNU/Linux systems be successfully attacked? Yes they can. But... it is no simple task to attack a well configured GNU/Linux system. Unless you are a "high value" target you are unlikely to attract the attention of organisations with the required skills to carry out such attacks.

It ends up being a question of deciding who you trust and where you perceive the risks to be.

And...
anti-malware programs will not even protect you from 50% of potential threats.

Best advice... regardless of the computing device you use...
... only do what you need to do
... uninstall all software you do not need
... apply security updates as soon as they become available
... remember, the internet is a two way system - you can see them (websites), but they can also see (at least a part of) you.