[Discuss] Linux malware

[Deryk Barker]

John Blomfield wrote:
> I recently installed AVG free anti virus and Spybot on someone's 
> Windows box for them and purged various forms of malware which got me 
> thinking about Linux because AVG also has a free anti virus for 
> Linux.  Just out of curiosity I installed and ran it on my Linux box 
> and not surprisingly it found nothing.  However, I note that there are 
> some reported Linux malware out there.  Has anyone of you ever been 
> affected?  I found one old but interesting link which is sort of 
> stating the obvious but I thought it might be of interest to any 
> "newbies".  I don't know if the comment about Lindows setting root 
> user as the default, is current but if it is be warned. 
That's clearly inappropriate - as is the old problem, common to mainy 
mainfame and mini OSs, of having a default admin password, clearly 
stated in the documentation. (The basis of the infamous 414 Explorer 
Scouts' break in to a nonclassified system at Los Alamos in the 1980s).

However, the story also indicates IIRC that the problem is believed to 
stem from *stolen* root passwords. And, as someone in a comment points 
out, if the problem were a hole in Apache - the other possiblity touted 
- then there would not be around 500 systems affected, but millions.