Re: Viruses and rootkits WAS Re: weird problem with one mail account in Thunderbird....ISP or what ?

[Darac Marjal <mailinglist@darac.org.uk>]

On Thu, 28 May 2015 11:34:44 -0400
Frank <debianlist@videotron.ca> wrote:

[cut]
> 
>     One more thing on this problem:
> 
>     Are there in fact any viruses that can infect Linux systems? I
> know about rootkits but I gather they are rare. But the guys at my
> ISP are so insistent I am beginning to wonder

There are viruses that run on Linux. Wikipedia has a non-exhaustive
list at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_malware#Viruses

As Wikipedia points out, though, Linux tends to find it easier to close
the vulnerability that allowed the virus to run in the first place.
And, in many cases, vulnerabilities are found BEFORE they're exploited
(compare that with Windows, were someone might find a vulnerability and
start exploiting it and then no-one else might find the same problem
for some years).

> 
> Frank
> 
>