The question about Linux security that is most frequently asked of me is

What anti-virus software do you recommend for Linux? This question makes Linux security people crazy. The obvious answer is NONE. Unfortunately, the people who are willing to accept that answer are never the ones who ask the question. People asking this question almost always have a security policy in place that requires anti-virus software. They are not thinking deeply about real threats to their system or counteracting real risks. They are trying to adhere to the letter of the law that says that they must have anti-virus software.

The best result that we can hope for with this group of people is that they do not inadvertently reduce the security of their system by choosing a vendor that forces them to do perverse things like disabling SELinux and ExecShield.

clamav fits this need but is not included is existing customer support contracts with key distros. Both Symantec and Kapersky require disabling SELinux. AVG is also a supported possibility.

Some of the heat and light of the discussion about the “best” anti-virus solution for Linux are shown in this thread which includes several additional product possibilities for anti-virus on Linux.

Ultimately, the person asking this question will have to evaluate their options and make their own decisions. My request is that if you find yourself asking this question, think deeply about the threats and attacks that you are trying to counter, consider your requirements, and please, do not weaken your security with the pretense of improving it.