An antivirus scanner for Linux servers with Windows clients

Heedful Helper

© Lead Image © 3dalia, 123RF.com

© Lead Image © 3dalia, 123RF.com

Article from Issue 178/2015
Author(s):

The Sophos Anti-Virus for Linux free antivirus scanner works unobtrusively in the background and targets mainly server operators and users who exchange files with Windows computers.

Newcomers in particular wonder about the security of the still unfamiliar Linux operating system. Can you really do without an antivirus scanner on Linux, and if so, should you do so? Can you really bank online without an antivirus scanner? The answer has not changed in recent years: Linux itself does not need an antivirus scanner.

Antivirus scanners for Linux typically target server installations, looking for infected files and attachments on mail and file servers. As services, they thus run in the background. Sophos Anti-Virus (SAV) for Linux is in this group of scanners; the application comprises a service with a toolset for the command line. Don't expect visual feedback unless the Sophos scanner discovers something on your disk or you are attempting to store an infected, or purportedly infected, file.

Sophos Anti-Virus

SAV is available for free from the Sophos website [1] in exchange for your email address. The installation package, sav-linux-free-9.9.tgz, weighs in at 423MB – antivirus programs are not exactly lightweight. To set up the application, unpack the archive and run the text-based installation routine as root:

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Virus Checkers

    So you want a virus checker? We’ll show you what we found when we toured some of the top scanners for the Linux environment.

  • Pest Control: Free Virus Scanner AVG 8.5

    AVG Technologies has released a new version of its virus scanner for Linux as AVG 8.5. Biggest features are its malware protection, improved virus filter and on-access scanner based on the RedirFS filesystem.

  • KlamAV

    Linux may not be as virus-ready as Windows, but who wants to harbor pointless malware? Now you can hunt for viruses with KDE's KlamAV, a desktop front-end for the ClamAV Open Source virus protection system.

  • Samba Antivirus

    Realtime virus scanning at the file server is an elegant and efficient option for protecting Windows clients. We’ll show you some tools and techniques for realtime scanning with Samba.

  • Security Lessons: ClamAV

    Protecting Windows clients from the big bad Internet.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News