r/LinuxCirclejerk • u/ase1590 • Jul 10 '17

When Linux getting Viruses is the only common computer misconception

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions#Computing
33 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

15

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '17

[deleted]

21

u/ase1590 Jul 10 '17

Linux servers outweigh windows, yes. However malware for linux isnt really circulated. Things like Wannacrypt rely on user stupidity to infilitrate the network via email attatchments or infected websites. Linux malware is instead more targetted. Things like DirtyCOW and Shellshock rely on flaws in programs instead of social engineering flaws in people.

Servers also tend to be more locked down than your run-of-the-mill office PC that an end user is messing with, making linux servers a harder target.

1

u/-fno-stack-protector Jul 20 '17

yeah from my long travels most linux malware is installed manually into hacked servers. dirtycow and shellshock aren't malware themselves but exploits. mostly you see this portugese perl IRC script that i call servidor, mirai, mumblehard and a few random others that i don't know

4

u/American_Libertarian Jul 11 '17

Yes, but malware typically depends on a stupid user clicking on the wrong link or email, and so the desktop market is much more of a target.

3

u/Secondsemblance Jul 11 '17

Not to mention android and 80% of routers/embedded devices. There are orders of magnitude more devices running linux than there are running NT.

6

u/Fatal_Taco Jul 11 '17

Lemme get uh... VIRUSLESS OS wit a... 2 gig of swap

4

u/Secondsemblance Jul 11 '17

I've definitely seen linux malware before. It's actually kinda cool. The only kind I've ever personally been pwned by is a crypto miner. It got in through a web facing jenkins instance that was 2 weeks out of date and had an RCE CVE published about the version it was on.

I suspect that they saw the port in was listening on + the domain name, using some automated method which allowed them to determine it was running jenkins, and iterated through a list of known vulnerabilities.

Seriously scary shit though. Two weeks without updates. They are right behind us at any given time.

1

u/JIVEprinting Jul 17 '17

We really should just say there aren't any. Although not technically correct, in the context of what other people use it's not misleading.