i have been thinking about putting together a genrel purpose linux machine something like pc linux os, for the net etc, but have often wonder about what firewalls and anti malware any sugestions ?
If you want to go the easy route, use Ubuntu or one of its variants (I recommend Xubuntu). These distros include everything you need, and provide very easy updating and installing of new software due to the extensive repositories. As for security software - all Linux systems already have a firewall built in (iptables) which you shouldn't need to mess with unless you are running a server. And Linux machines do not need anti-virus/anti-malware, firstly because most of the malware out there targets Windows machines, and secondly because vulnerabilities are patched very quickly due to the OSS model.
Not trying to sound like an idiot/troll here, but just beacuse most viruses target other OS's doesn't mean you shouldn't have anti-virus. It was a similar thought that had all MAC Users and recently there have been a few exploits that caused some significant damage (http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/securit...-apple-six-weeks-to-fix-critical-java-exploit) Also there is Sophos for Linux, we use it on windows and never had an issue with it: http://www.sophos.com/en-us/product...n/components/anti-virus-protection/linux.aspx
thanks for the help guys! il give sophos a go, but is there a dedicated firewall that i can configure and use?
Not saying that it won't happen to you, but I use an old laptop as a ubuntu net browsing thing, and I've not got a virus or anything with that. As I said, not guaranteed virus free, no OS is free from viruses, but I'd say that ubuntu is one of the better ones.
As said above iptables is more than enough in a distro like Ubuntu. There are plenty of tools in these distros to help configure it even further should you wish. As for AV its not a big problem on Linux, but if you are transferring things around between windows and Linux machines, it does not hurt to have one. Sent on my CM10 JB powered i9100 by TapaTalk 2
As others have said, no OS is malware-free. I've been a Linux user since 2007 and have tried out Fedora, Ubuntu and Mint and have to say that in recent releases, Mint has to be the best - I run Mint 13 (Maya) at work. It's binary-compatibile with Ubuntu (meaning that you can download packages directly from Ubuntu's repositories) and it doesn't force you to use the Unity interface that Canonical now ship as default with Ubuntu. If you're transitioning from Windows, use the MATE edition of Mint, as the MATE desktop is a fork of the old GNOME2 interface, which gives you all of the look and feel of a Windows UI. Addressing the original point of A/V and firewall applications, ClamAV is decent and gufw is a GUI front-end for the UFW firewall installed (but disabled) by default in Mint (this isn't installed by default in Ubuntu AFAIK). That said, neither A/V nor a firewall is a requirement in the Linux world.
Keeping your distro up-to-date with all the security patches and downloading packages from reliable sources is probably the best way to prevent your computer from being compromised.
Also using ubuntu and from the start and till my PC never effected by any irus effect or other software damage.
It's also polite especially if your working with alot of windows users. Just because the virus etc doesn't effect you doesn't mean you can't pass it on to other users.
