4 Reasons You Need Native Linux Virus Scanning

In today’s connected environments, Linux IT professionals can no longer claim that viruses are only a Windows threat.

The biggest excuse people make for forgoing virus protection is that they scan their client PCs and therefore no virus would make it to the server. However, effective malware defense requires multiple layers. This brings us to the importance of native virus scanning.

The following highlights the four main reasons security experts give for using antivirus software that runs natively on your Linux system.

1. PC-Based Virus Scanning Creates Security Concerns

Scanning a Linux server from a PC creates security vulnerabilities. The process requires leaving a work station to be logged on throughout the scanning process, which compromises the security and integrity of the server, and leaves it visible to a virus or malicious code.

Native virus scanning doesn’t require a work station or a file share. 

2. PC Scanning Isn’t Very Reliable

Some parts of Linux servers are impossible for a PC-based anti-virus solution to scan and can cause non-native scans to fail, making for an incomplete and time-consuming process.

Native anti-virus solutions can automatically remove all detected threats with no additional hardware.

3. Native Antivirus Scanning Eliminates Stability Problems

A number of problems with PC-based scanning solutions, such as a lost connection to the server or a pop-up warning message, cause the scanning process to stop entirely.

Stability concerns simply aren’t an issue with native software.

4. Virus Scanning from a PC Creates Performance Problems

PC-based scanning is incredibly slow and increases the network load dramatically.

A native scanning program performs much faster, doesn’t increase the network load, doesn’t reset a file’s “last access time,” and allows for more frequent scanning.

Most organizations are running some versions of Linux, making it a prime target for malicious attackers to exploit. Additionally, Linux systems can also serve as hosts to Windows viruses. Native antivirus software provides server-level virus protection that detects and removes native Linux viruses, infected files, and Windows malware lurking on your Linux servers.

Take these threats seriously with a solution that offers battle-tested technology, advanced heuristic analysis, and detection, quarantine and cleaning. Powertech Antivirus offers the power and protection of the industry leading scan engines while supporting the specific features of your operating system.