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Virus scanning for Linux 14/05/2008

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KlamAV Logo 		Virus scanning for Linux
First published 14/05/2008
Updated 25/07/2009

Not too many Linuxees seem to see the need for a virus scanner. That makes sense, because, unless you open up your system willingly and knowingly, Linux is totally inaccessible for viruses. Yet, I do run ClamAV/KlamAV as a kind of courtesy for the Windows users - be assured that this addiction can be cured! - with whom I exchange files and messages. With ClamAV/KlamAV you can scan on demand and automatically on access, and it integrates seamlessly into KMail to keep an eye on your mail, that boundless source of infection...

KlamAV is a KDE front-end for ClamAV, an open-source virus scanner, and it works OK. It can handle updates fully automatically too. However, a number of error messages can emerge while running or updating the tool. It took me quite some time to sort out all the various little annoyances. Here are a few tips.
  • Preferably install ClamAV/KlamAV using your openSUSE package manager (YaST, Smart etc). Once everything is running fine, you can update using the Update tab in KlamAV. But... that's when the fun may start.
  • If you work with Smart, but want to update ClamAV/KlamAV from the update tab, you should lock the ClamAV, ClamAV Database and KlamAV versions in Smart. If you don't Smart will try to be too smart and possibly downgrade your ClamAV/KlamAV.
  • When you install the ClamAV/KlamAV packages, make sure you also install Dazuko (Datei Zugriffskontrolle, an essential kernel module for virus scanning). Without that ClamAV will not work. For openSUSE 10.2 that concerns these packages:
dazuko
dazuko-kmp-default (for most systems)
dazuko-kmp-xen (if you work with Xen virtualization)
  • If you get the error message "Auto-Scan died unexpectedly" when you try to start the Auto-Scan function, check if /dev/dazuko is accessible for [user]. I tried to change the group from 'root' to 'users', but it got changed back every time again. Work-around: make [user] a member of group 'root'.
  • If you have trouble installing updates for ClamAV/KlamAV, make sure you have these packages installed:
gmp-devel
mpfr-devel (to have /usr/lib/libgmp.la available)
  • A number of other packages may be useful or necessary to have installed:
kdelibs3-devel
kdebase3-devel
kdebindings3
qt3-devel-tools
qt3-extensions
qt3-static
libjpeg-devel
curl-devel
gcc-fortran
libgfortran41
automake
autoconf
autoconf-el (if emacs is on your system)

More information can be found in the ClamAV Wiki or the KlamAV FAQ.

Have fun and be nice!

This article is also posted on SuSE Forums.

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This page last updated on 25/07/2009