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[Dustin Decker]

On Sun, 10 Nov 2002, Duane Attaway wrote:

> > What options are there to protect, and scan, a linux server from
> > viruses, worms, etc.?
> 
> 1. Run applications under a user account, not root.
> 2. Don't run dozens of servers you aren't using.  Just what you need.  
> 3. And if you do run servers, watch the logs for unusual activity, and 
>    keep them updated for bug releases.  Keep things simple and 
>    minimalistic.
> 4. Run programs only from places you can trust.
> 5. If you ever do see a linux virus, tell me.  I'd be interested seeing 
>    one that actually worked.

Just gotta get this one in there:
(Slapper - multiple variants, etc.)
http://isc.incidents.org/analysis.html?id=177

Mind you - you said virus, this is really a worm.  At any rate, Duane is 
right on the money.  Unlike Windows, if you do follow the 4 steps listed 
above, you'll be safe in nearly all cases.

BTW - I think Microsoft may finally have a grip on keeping the marketing 
guys from trumping the security guys in future versions of Windows since 
they've decided they aren't going to be able to make the bad press go away 
any other way.  Future releases probably won't do "kitchen sink" 
installation of IIS, for example, so the dangerous features that nobody 
uses anyway _might_ actually be disabled by default.  Guess we'll have to 
wait and see.

Dustin

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