It is necessary for Linux Mint / Ubuntu users desktop user to secure their desktops by installing a zero configuration firewall like Firestarter and install an Anti-Virus like AVG.
For a tutorial on how to install and use Firestarter, go here.
Here’s how to install and use AVG Anti-Virus in Linux Mint / Ubuntu:
1. Go to http://free.avg.com/us-en/download.prd-alf and click on ‘AVG Free Edition for Linux (avg85flx-r874-a3473.i386.deb)’ to download the Debian package file.
2. After the file has been downloaded, open the terminal and change the directory to the folder where you have saved the downloaded file. Now issue the following command at the terminal to install the downloaded Debian package file-
sudo dpkg -i avg85flx-r874-a3473.i386.deb
3. After the installation is complete, issue the following command at the terminal –
sudo avgctl
4. Reboot your system to ensure that AVG related daemons(services) start properly.
5. After the system has rebooted, open the terminal and issue the following command to update the AVG Anti-Virus definition files –
sudo avgupdate
6. After the update is completed, issue the following command at the terminal to perform a full Anti-Virus scan on your system –
sudo avgscan / -a -H -c
The above command scans your root directory(/) i.e. all files in your system are scanned. The option ‘-a’ instructs the AVG Anti-virus scanner to scan the compressed archive files too. The option ‘-H’ instructs the scanner to use heuristics while scanning. The option ‘-c’ instructs the scanner to scan cookies too.
7. After the scanning is completed, the you will see a result similar to this –
(Please note that in above screenshot we have interrupted the scan in order to show you what a result screen will look like). Also, note that the current version of AVG Anti-Virus for Linux does have a ‘-l’ command line option for clean, as per documentation it doesn’t take any action by default. So it’s recommended that you manually delete any virus infected files found by the scanner. Hopefully, they’ll improve the scanner in the future to take action on infected files without manual intervention.
Also, having no GUI sucks, but the advantage is that the scanning completes faster and Linux users who don’t use GUI can easily use AVG Anti-Virus to scan their system.
[…] Original post and full credit to: https://ihaveapc.com/2011/07/how-to-install-and-use-avg-antivirus-in-linux-mint-ubuntu/ […]
dear ‘admin’ i -did- educate myself, as a unix admin with 40 years in the field. using a crowbar to install avg (or other windows related software) into a unix/linux system is utter nonsense and will make the system more vulnerable and unstable. the exploits that can lead to a takeover of aunix/linux system (server side eploits) are far more complex than what can be addressed with an avg ‘magic bullet’. weak point in any system are stupid users who fall for the usual scams or use adobe products, likeacrobat or their flash plugin.
i have yet to come across avirus for unix/linux.
s. zalewski, sysadmin
Thanks so very much! These instructions are the only ones that worked so far on my laptop … probably my own fault somehow, but thanks again!
Thank you very much for this article.
Very useful AVG for Linux.I have been using this for three years and I am very satisfied about it.Thanks for sharing us how to install AVG.
Does this automatically check for stuff on other partitions. I have a Windows and Storage drive I want scanned.
i just installed and ran and it found a handful of virus’s
how do i now go about getting rid of them as there is no clean up option as already stated. i have the list of replies i received in the terminal saying what file and which virus it is, or at least i think that is what i have been given.
help would be appreciated. thanks.
ever such a helpful site. See you again.
John Better safe than sorry. There are some sickos out there who will infect you’re computer to extort money from you. Oh and as an incentive to pay up they will also leave sick pictures on you’re hard drive so that if you take the computer in for repair …. get my drift.
This is a scam people!
You DO NOT need this garbage for any Linux distribution
Educate yourself
Dear John,
Please educate yourself on Linux Malware before giving useless advice to others.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_malware
Cheers,
Admins
does avg provide graphical environment for fedora 14. if so then what is the command
Mohit – Presently no graphical interface is available for AVG on Linux systems. To run it on Fedora, download the .rpm package and at Terminal, use the command rpm -Uvh filename.rpm as root to install.
Cheers.
Glad you found it useful Kimberly.
after the scan is done, how do you put the items into a virus vault or similar item for the Linux? it just says:
files scanned — 350673 (191391)
infections found — 17 (17)
pups found — 0
files healed — 0
warnings reported — 18
errors reported — 863
how do I clean these?
Thanks
Dear Kimberly,
The AVG scanner currently does not clean any files by itself. So, you’ll have to view the output for the list of files for which there were warnings and delete them manually. (Be careful while deleting files – if some of them have important personal data, save the data to another file before deleting it.)
Regards,
admins
Dear Kimberly,
You can also give Avast! Antivirus for Linux a try – https://ihaveapc.com/2011/07/how-to-install-and-use-avast-antivirus-in-linux-mint-ubuntu/
Regards,
admins
Thank you very much for this article. I came in handy today when I installed AVG on my Linux computer.