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Post by anonymouse on Nov 26, 2020 3:31:07 GMT
...so there's pirated software for example on this site: LINK TO WEBSITE REMOVED BY MODERATOR What I want to know is, if I install one or more of these, is there a chance of it screwing up my system? ie. basically the same nightmare as Windoze? I thought Linux was super-protected or whatever...?  |
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Post by fidoedidoe on Nov 26, 2020 8:18:29 GMT
What I want to know is, if I install one or more of these, is there a chance of it screwing up my system? ie. basically the same nightmare as Windoze? I thought Linux was super-protected or whatever...? I cannot comment on or condone the use of pirated software. With regards to Linux being secure (against virus/malware)...in short, the answer is: IT'S NOT. "Yes" the source code is open source and is patched regularly to mitigate against vulnerability, however there is no out of the box protection against virus/malware unless you install a capability to give you that protection (for your specific use case). Statistically right now you are less likely to get a virus on Linux vs. Windows but that's simply because Windows is used more widely/therefore there's a bigger target audience. As/when Linux gets used more widely then the "value" gained from attacking it (with virus/malware) becomes greater. It's all about attack vectors at the end of the day. Short answer. If you're installing software from unknown/untrustworthy source your risk from virus/malware increases accordingly. The strong recommendation is to avoid this situation. |
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wimc
Moderator 
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Post by wimc on Nov 26, 2020 11:58:23 GMT
Any illegal/pirated copies of operating system software or anything else could and may include number of viruses/malware built-in.
NOT worth it.
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Post by Hippytaff on Nov 26, 2020 15:51:12 GMT
Out of interest why would you want/need to use pirated software with all the free open source legitimate options from safe sources available to Linux users? I understand why windows users who can’t afford software sometimes use cracked/pirated software. Just wondering.
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zuul
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Post by zuul on Nov 27, 2020 18:05:35 GMT
I think that a virus could be due to an infected windows software using Wine but only /home would be affected. I suppose that a malicious ppa or a weird deb file could also damage the system. Downloading official distributions (verifying checksums) and official software included in the repositories is the best solution. Activating Gufw is an other too. - Is it safe? - Yes it is. |
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Post by anonymouse on Dec 22, 2020 5:20:22 GMT
Out of interest why would you want/need to use pirated software with all the free open source legitimate options from safe sources available to Linux users? I understand why windows users who can’t afford software sometimes use cracked/pirated software. Just wondering. Umm GAMES, bro. GAMES. Also some VFX software. |
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Post by ylee on Dec 22, 2020 20:17:55 GMT
I think that a virus could be due to an infected windows software using Wine but only /home would be affected... There have been issues with the Linux kernel and other stuff that runs as root where a program could "gain root" access to the system. So don't always assume linux malware could only mess with your home folder and not the system itself. And speaking as a developer, a programmer who has also studied malware, a maintainer of Bodhi's packages and some one who reads computer security blogs, yes a malicious deb file could do about thing to your system. Install only stuff you trust. |
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Post by majpooper on Dec 23, 2020 19:20:26 GMT
Sandboxing your Internet facing apps with Firejail is also a prudent step to protect your linux system.
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Post by anonymouse on Dec 25, 2020 4:19:46 GMT
Sandboxing your Internet facing apps with Firejail is also a prudent step to protect your linux system. What's that? -curious- |
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Post by anonymouse on Dec 25, 2020 4:20:14 GMT
I think that a virus could be due to an infected windows software using Wine but only /home would be affected... There have been issues with the Linux kernel and other stuff that runs as root where a program could "gain root" access to the system. So don't always assume linux malware could only mess with your home folder and not the system itself. And speaking as a developer, a programmer who has also studied malware, a maintainer of Bodhi's packages and some one who reads computer security blogs, yes a malicious deb file could do about thing to your system. Install only stuff you trust. "about thing" means? |
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Post by ylee on Dec 25, 2020 11:30:31 GMT
"about anything" means code could be installed that does anything the OS is able to do. It could alter files, it could copy data, it could watch keystrokes and hunt for passwords (esp banking passwords or passwords in general), it could open apps and web pages, it could make your system unbootable, it could try to infect other machines on your network, ...
I could go on forever. Any of the bad stuff that happened and prob still happens on windows machines with a bad malware infection.
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Post by majpooper on Dec 25, 2020 23:28:46 GMT
Sandboxing your Internet facing apps with Firejail is also a prudent step to protect your linux system. What's that? -curious-
There is a good video that explains it much better than I could - but in a nutshell it isolates your app like your browser so the rest of your hard drive is not accessible. firejail is in the repository.
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