On Mon, 5 Mar 2001, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Hi to all
> can anybody explain me, even in a few words, why is Linux so robust
> against viruses ?? Is there an intrinsic robustness ???
>
> I'm a Linux newbye, and I just heard of a "Ramen" virus or something
> similar, but nothing else....
> if I think to the tons of Windows-viruses....
>
> Thank you
>
>
A big part of it is an intrinsic robustness - a normal user has a hard
time doing damage to anything except his home directory. To do real
damage, a virus has to get root access. Another factor is that most of
the mail readers for Linux will not run an attachment by default, so it
is harder for a virus to infect the system in the first place.
Consider this - UNIX systems are designed to protect the system, and
other users from the actions of a user. So a virus has to work harder
from the start...
As far as Ramen goes, it is a worm, and not a virus. It searches for a
specific set of bugs, and uses them to gain root access. It then does
its damage to the system, and uses it to find more systems to crack.
(The sad part is that it exploits bugs that had fixes out 6 months
before the worm...)
Mikkel
--
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons,
for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
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