On 05/20/2011 12:38 PM, Rick Sewill wrote: > There have been Linux viruses in the past.
AIUI, most of them have been "proof of concept" projects used to prove that a particular vulnerability existed and could be exploited. None of those were ever released "into the wild," however, and can safely be ignored. Also, one of the reasons there haven't been more malicious viruses for Linux is the fact that writing one takes much more technical skill than it does to create a Windows virus. (I've heard that there are programs that allow you to pick a vector and a payload then write a custom Windows virus for you, meaning that the user doesn't need even the slightest programming skills.) The greater level of skill needed means that most of the people out there who'd want to release a malicious Linux virus wouldn't know how to create one and those who do know don't find it worth their time because Windows viruses are far more profitable for them. None of this means that Linux is inherently safe from malware, of course. It does mean, however, that the current threat is negligible. -- users mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
