Unix Security - Viruses and Virus Scanners

Viruses and Virus Scanners

Unix-like operating systems are immune to most Microsoft Windows viruses because binaries created to run on Windows generally won't run on other platforms. However, many Unix like installations provide file storage services to Microsoft Windows clients, such as through the use of Samba software, and may unintentionally become a repository for viruses stored by users. It is common for Unix servers to act as Mail Transfer Agents consequently email virus scanning is often installed. The ClamAV virus scanner is available in source code form and may be used to scan Unix file systems for viruses which infect other operating systems.

There are viruses and worms that target Unix-like operating systems. In fact, the first computer worm -- the Morris worm -- targeted Unix systems.