Eliana Willis

Lance Whitney / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source More

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET key takeaways Linux doesn’t usually require antivirus.If you share files, you should consider using one.For scanning files and directories, ClamAV is your best bet.I’ve said many times over the years that Linux does not need antivirus software. That, of course, assumes you compute in a bubble. If you happen to share files with others, that’s another story altogether. Sharing files with Windows users without vetting them could land those other users in trouble — of a malicious kind.Imagine that you’ve unwittingly downloaded a file from some dark spot on the web. You don’t check it for malicious code, but you send it on to 50 users anyway. Some of those 50 users then send the same file on to others, which could wind up a vast web of trouble. Had you scanned that file before sending it, you might have known it contained malicious code and would have deleted it immediately.Also: Thinking about switching to Linux? 10 things you need to knowIf your operating system is Linux, what would you use for scanning that file? Your best option is ClamAV.What is ClamAVClamAV is an open-source antivirus tool for detecting Trojans, viruses, and other types of malware. ClamAV is a toolkit for email scanning, web scanning, and endpoint security. You’ll find versions of ClamAV for Linux, MacOS, and Windows, as well as both command-line and GUI options. While ClamAV is very versatile and useful, the one caveat for this security tool is that it does not feature real-time scanning. Instead, ClamAV is all about on-demand scanning, which means you use it manually (whether from the command line or the GUI). That’s not to say ClamAV doesn’t do real-time scanning, because it does. With the help of clamonacc, ClamAV enjoys “on-access” antivirus scanning, which is handled by intercepting file access events and then submitting those events to the clamd daemon for analysis. The clamonacc component works as part of the ClamAV suite to provide real-time malware protection for Linux systems by scanning files as they are created, accessed, or modified. Like with any antivirus tool on Windows, using the real-time feature does consume system resources, so keep that in mind. As far as features are concerned, ClamAV includes: Threat detection: ClamAV detects viruses, worms, Trojans, and other malware.Real-time protection: ClamAV provides on-access scanning through a daemon client.Multi-threaded daemon:  ClamAV includes a scalable and flexible daemon for running scans.Command-line scanner: ClamAV has a command-line interface for on-demand scanning, as well as a GUI.Automated database updates: ClamAV includes an advanced and automated tool to keep virus definitions current using freshclam. How to install ClamAV Let’s install ClamAV on an Ubuntu-based distribution. It’s really easy. Also: Want to save your old computer? Try these 5 Linux distributions More

picture alliance / Contributor / Getty Images Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source<!–> on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Visits to gemini.google.com have doubled over the past year. Web traffic to other chatbots has declined or remained steady. Users say Gemini excels in routine tasks and app integration. Visits to gemini.google.com – the web […] More

Charlie Osborne / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Two new Have I Been Pwned datasets added with millions of accounts.Emails and passwords exposed in recent data breaches.Check if your info was leaked and learn what to do next.Cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt has added two new sets of compromised account records to the Have I Been Pwned database, including a massive dataset of 183 million accounts.What is Have I Been Pwned? Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) is a data breach “search engine” that allows anyone to submit their email address to see if any links to a data breach are publicly known. Also: AT&T customer? Claim up to $7,500 from $177M data breach settlement — don’t miss the new deadlineHIBP is a free service that can give you an overview of whether or not it is likely your online accounts have been “pwned,” or compromised, in a data breach. Once you’ve submitted your email address for review, you are told how many data breaches, if any, your information has been leaked in. A timeline will show when the data breach occurred, along with a useful summary of the stolen or dumped data. Also: I’m ditching passwords for passkeys for one reason – and it’s not what you thinkYou can also use the HIBP side service, Pwned Passwords, to see if a password you commonly use is linked to exposed datasets. You can’t use the service to view stolen or leaked data. Instead, HIBP gives you an overview of compromised data. At the time of writing, 917 breaches have been added to the service, which now brings its count to 15.32 billion accounts. What information is included in these datasets?According to the Have I Been Pwned updates, the first set includes 183 million records. Data was uploaded to HIBP on Oct. 21 with the assistance of Synthient, a threat intelligence service that shared the data with Hunt. In total, 183 million unique email addresses, the websites they were used on, and the passwords they were associated with were included. Also: 7 password rules security experts live by in 2025 – the last one might surprise youThe second addition is smaller at 3.9 million accounts. Added to HIBP on Oct. 27, this data breach relates to MyVidster, a video-sharing website that closed earlier this year and was reportedly used to bookmark and share pornography. Email addresses, usernames, and profile pictures were leaked on a public hacking forum. More