Linux Myth?

Is it true that Linux does not have the problem of viruses? I feel like Windows is failing me with the frequent infections that I keep getting.It seems like the only way to avoid viruses is to not surf the internet at all .They are everywhere even on Facebook. I'm planning on installing Linux so I can surf the internet securely and access my bank online securely. Is Linux really secure or is it just another myth? Can you guys share your experience/knowledge?

 

Here's a list, BUT THERE ARE OTHERS

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Linuxvirus

 

Yes it can have viruses, but on the whole people don't tend to write many viruses for them.
Andriod (smartphones and tablets) is similar, people don't tend to write many viruses for those OS's either.

But I can't help thinking that you are running from one problem to another.

And this has me especially concerned.
I think you need to be asking yourself why your machine is getting frequent infections? I say this because I work in IT as a support engineer. I am the one people ring when it all goes pear shaped and I am the one they expect to perform miracles time and time again.

I see patterns with people who say their machine gets frequent infections. It is a lack of education about being weary on the internet. For some reason, just because it is the internet, people suddenly seem to drop their guard and think, yes I really do think this bargain is what it seems instead of in real life saying, if it dropped off the back of a van, I want nothing to do with it. An advert saying that you can get MS Office 2015 for free by filling in this form and downloading this tiny executable file onto your machine suddenly gets everyone clicking on that link instead of engaging their brain and saying "how the ****** do I know you are installing what you say you are installing?" The brain simply does not get engaged.

So I have to ask myself 2 questions. The first is if you actually ever got rid of the first virus? And how do you know you did? If your machine was infected with it, then the only definite way of getting rid of it, is to wipe all of the software off with a format and start again from scratch. As in putting it back to how it was when you bought it. If you scanned it with a piece of software off the internet that said you had an infection... well you have fallen for yet another of those tricks.

Secondly I have to ask, if you did rebuild your machine from scratch and then got another virus, are you actually running a decent copy of a piece of antivirus software or are you simply falling for the I ran a file from the internet that said I had a virus....

Do you get where I am coming from? Installing a variant of Linux is not going to cure your habits and are you bank details going to be safe? I wouldn't be worried about your bank details from your online banking, they won't be the first to get compromised. It will be your credit and debit card details long before that and a variant of Linux is not going to protect you from that.

 

Is it practical if I buy another laptop just for clean browsing? I would only use it to browse safe sites if you know what I mean.

 

The only way to avoid viruses is never connect to the internet never swap
or introduce new software from an unknown source, and then it's a slim chance
a company has not done due diligence before releasing it's software.

Have a look at this forums “types of viruses” listing,it's updated frequently.

http://www.laptop-forums.com/threads/types-of-viruses.24398/

 

Learning to check the link before you click on it is not that difficult, so it I s cheaper to change your browsing habits.
If you are going to dodgy sites, then do it on a virtual machine that you can set back to uninfected after each visit.

Also you could enable privacy mode, or protected mode depending on what your OS is and what your web browser of choice is, before visiting Adult Sites/illegal software/music sites or dating sites, it is not that difficult. Strangely estate agents sites have also been a good source of infections.

May be as an IT Engineer I have more knowledge on knowing what to avoid, but learning what to avoid is not that difficult if you have infected your machine once with one thing, applying a little bit of common sense to the situation is not a huge learning curve. Asking yourself how you got the virus first time around (you downloaded a piece of software that said your machine was infected and could cure it - so why did your existing antivirus software not deal with those supposed viruses in the first place?) your web browser warned you that the file was potentially suspect and asked you if you were sure you wanted to run it, the filename of what you downloaded was not what you were expecting from the link given... all of these are clues and something that does not need to be repeated if you actually think about what you did. Perhaps I just see it more often than I realise, but I also can learn from others. I see those ads that say my machine is infected with x many viruses and Trojans.... I don't take any notice of them because I know they are little pieces of software that simply pick a random number to show to me on each occasion and are often nothing more than pictures. I don't need to click on those links because I trust the AV software I have to deal with them and prevent them from getting onto my machine in the first place and I also trust my OH to know the difference between genuine software and hoaxes.

It is perfectly possible to not get infected. I personally have only ever had the 1 virus on any machine I have ever owned (and I have worked in IT for more than 20 years now) and I don't shy away from adult sites (and that virus was not from an adult site ironically). I am simply careful. I have the status bar turned on so I can see what a hyperlink looks like underneath its button and see that a file I want to download is actually what it is saying it is. Legit software is not the problem, it is people who write software to root mobile phones and then don't do anything when their site gets hacked that are the issue. People who offer you a free copy of MS Office and you download it thinking it will give you are free copy that are the issues. Diligence is not difficult, even my parents and my in-laws now know what to look for and don't fall for the scams and hoaxes anymore and they are in their 70's and one of them does not shy away from adult sites!