Unlike the original antivirus programs that were based solely on the treatment of computer viruses, a modern antivirus program is designed to protect the system from a great number of different possible malicious programs (worms, viruses, Trojan horses, rootkits, spyware , adware), phishing attack etc.

It is known that the first antivirus programs have appeared in 1983.

Antivirus programs have independent and proactive way of functioning. Most antivirus programs with proactive mode can not work simultaneously on a single computer. Some antivirus programs come with built-in firewall, spyware detection tools and related security tools.

Recently, on various forums there have been a lot of discussions whether to install antivirus software on Linux or not. Many people do not understood what exactly do these antivirus programs and whether they have ever needed them.

Well, here is the list of most popular antivirus softwares you can use on your Linux.

Avast! Antivirus

Avast! Antivirus is a freeware antivirus software, produced by Czech company ALWIL Software, operating since 1991. The first version was published in 1988. It is currently available in 27 languages. Its effectiveness has been confirmed by ICSA certified and it was awarded with many prizes like Virus Bulletin 100% Award. The program is available in two versions: Home Edition and Professional.

Simple user interface is available when you run scans on demand. It allows you to easily define the basic parameters and functions to access files in quarantine, preview, and the event log to update virus signatures. Extended interface is available only in Professional version.

The program integrates with the operating system layer, allowing access to critical system functions from the context menu.

The Linux version of the user interface requires GTK + 2.x. If  it’s not present in the system, it will be added during installation.

The last stable version is 4.8.1356, released 2009-09-25.

Main features:

Antivirus kernel:
- Almost 100% detection
- Outstanding performance
- Reasonable memory requirements
- ICSA certified

User Interface:
- Intuitive Simple User Interface
- Independent on installed graphic libraries
- Testing of whole disks or just selected folders
- Defining and running of antivirus tests
- Working with the scan results
- Actions with infected files
- Storing the scan results (history)
- Virus encyclopedia
- Command-line scanner with STDIN/STDOUT mode

Updates:
- Non-incremental updates
- Updates can be completely automatic
- Standard updates are provided 2 times a week

Related posts:

1. What are Computer Viruses and its Types?
2. Choosing a Linux Live CD
3. Mandriva Linux 2010 Spring