īecause they are predominantly used on mail servers which may send mail to computers running other operating systems, Linux virus scanners generally use definitions for, and scan for, all known viruses for all computer platforms. Linux mail servers should run AV software in order to neutralize viruses before they show up in the mailboxes of Outlook and Outlook Express users. Samba or NFS servers, for instance, may store documents in undocumented, vulnerable Microsoft formats, such as Word and Excel, that contain and propagate viruses. some Linux machines definitely need anti-virus software. Some Linux users do run Linux-based anti-virus software to scan insecure documents and email which comes from or is going to Windows users. They think nobody writes malware for Linux or Mac OS X. Tom Ferris, a researcher with Security Protocols, commented on one of Kaspersky's reports, stating, 'In people's minds, if it's non-Windows, it's secure, and that's not the case. The use of an operating system is directly correlated to the interest by the malware writers to develop malware for that OS.' Shane Coursen, a senior technical consultant with Kaspersky Lab, said at the time, 'The growth in Linux malware is simply due to its increasing popularity, particularly as a desktop operating system . In 2008 the quantity of malware targeting Linux was noted as increasing. A virus/trojan/worm author who successfully targeted specifically Apache httpd Linux/x86 Web servers would both have an extremely target-rich environment and instantly earn lasting fame, and yet it doesn't happen. ignores Unix's dominance in a number of non-desktop specialties, including Web servers and scientific workstations.

Rick Moen, an experienced Linux system administrator, counters that: In the past, it has been suggested that Linux had so little malware because its low market share made it a less profitable target.

To gain control over a Linux system or to cause any serious consequences to the system itself, the malware would have to gain root access to the system.

Like Unix systems, Linux implements a multi-user environment where users are granted specific privileges and there is some form of access control implemented.

2.1 For Microsoft Windows-specific threats.

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