Do You Think Linux is Completely Safe? Is it Like Mac?

Linux > Tips, Tricks and Hacks - by - on 5 comments

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“I’m using Linux… I have nothing to worry about… No one can hack me… No virus can infect my machine… My machine is completely invulnerable!” That’s exactly how most of the Linux users and developers think. But, is it true? Is it completely safe?

Lets forget about Linux for a second… Earlier, Apple used to say Mac is completely safe from malware. They said no one can hurt Mac users. But ironically, a recent malware managed to infect thousands of Mac users. Because its invulnerable, many people didn’t install any anti-virus software. Apple had a hard time fixing the issue. It caught them completely off-guard! So, will it happen to Linux?

Take Android for example. There are malware targeting Android devices. Currently, everyone recommend you to install an Anti Virus app in your Android system… But, do you know Android is based on Linux? Android is a Linux-based distribution like Ubuntu and Fedora! So, what do you think about the security of Linux now?

We can say that Mac is not Linux and Android have most of the features of Linux stripped down in order to fit into small mobile devices. But still we should remember nothing is 100% perfect in this world.

Several months ago I can remember some one published a package full of malware code which can harm Linux. It went on Slashdot I think… You can hear news about websites being hacked or infected by malware. Remember, more than 90% of websites in the world are hosted in Linux servers!

I agree… Linux is safe… Not completely safe but safer than others. They think more about the security. Windows copied some Linux methods to secure their own system. But still, Linux have holes.

The reason why Linux desktops are not yet targeted by serious hackers is that it’s not that popular. Linux have a very small share on the desktop market. In the recent years Mac became very popular and it became a big target. But in other areas, (servers, smart phones, tablets, super computers, etc) Linux is the king. Currently, it’s getting a lot of popularity from around the world. So, one day, we’ll have to install an Anti Virus suit in our machines. That day is very close! So, get ready!

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This awesome post was written by Pubudu Kodikara

Pubudu has written 1046 great articles for us.

Currently, I'm preparing a delicious meal... I take ingredients from the tech world... I have already used 2 tea spoons of software, 3 table spoons of network, a cup of linux, a jug of web and many more tasty ingredients!
  • http://www.techcress.com/ Vamsi Krishna

    Yep!!!! Linux is not hundred percent safe but it is far more better then others… Actually nothing is 100% safe(no matter what it is), after all it was a human creation ;)

    • http://techhamlet.com/ Pubudu Kodikara

      Exactly! Humans are not 100% perfect… Same thing applies to his creations! :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/simply.jeny Lady-jen Pabutawan

    Thank you for posting!
    I haven’t try using Linux. But, based to what I’ve read is true. Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The
    defining component of Linux is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released 5 October 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Therefore,
    using Linux is safe.

  • linux user

    haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

  • http://francesco.scotti.cc -FrA-

    Please, tell me you are kidding! What kind of insane association of concepts brought you to tell the world: android is linux so android is malware affected so linux is vulnerable? I agree with you, nothing is 100% safe, not even NetBSD. But android is not “like ubuntu or fedora”. What you call “linux” is actually GNU/Linux, a complex and highly safe compound of software that runs on the linux kernel. Android is a completely different kind of OS from GNU that runs on a linux kernel, but this is far far away from being something similar!!! Your syllogism doesn’t work at all.