I am not root, but I am the only one on the system. Can't update antivirus.

Asked by PAC Engineering

I tried to update the antivirus program, but it tells me that I am not root. I think I need it updated, especially it is telling me that it has updates to do.

I am using the latest version of Ubuntu, or rather from about a month and a half ago.

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: i386
Date: Mon Mar 23 14:48:24 2009
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 8.04
ExecutablePath: /usr/sbin/synaptic
Package: synaptic 0.61ubuntu9
PackageArchitecture: i386
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin
 LANG=en_AU.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: synaptic
Uname: Linux 2.6.24-16-generic i686

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Ubuntu clamav Edit question
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Revision history for this message
PAC Engineering (q-admin-pacengineering-com-au) said :
#1
Revision history for this message
Marc Deslauriers (mdeslaur) said :
#2

Thanks for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. We appreciate the difficulties you are facing, but this appears to be a "regular" (non-security) bug. I have unmarked it as a security issue since this bug does not show evidence of allowing attackers to cross privilege boundaries nor directly cause loss of data/privacy. Please feel free to report any other bugs you may find.

Revision history for this message
Vojtěch Trefný (vojtech.trefny) said :
#3

Thanks for your bugreport, but this is much more question than bug, because there is no bug -- you aren't root!

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo

Revision history for this message
marcobra (Marco Braida) (marcobra) said :
#4

Please tell us which antivirus are you talking of...?

Thank you

Revision history for this message
PAC Engineering (q-admin-pacengineering-com-au) said :
#5

Thank you for your sensible response, and one which serves a purpose.

The antivirus I am using is virus scanner. I didnt know there were
others on here, as I can't find where they are. I don't know how to
drive this very well.

Thank you.

Revision history for this message
Abi ^-^ (abiyasa-eka) said :
#6

Did you mean ClamAV ?

Take a look at

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ClamAV

Thank you ^-^

Revision history for this message
PAC Engineering (q-admin-pacengineering-com-au) said :
#7

Yes, I think that is the one.

On Tue, 2009-03-24 at 01:33 +0000, Abi ^-^ wrote:
> Your question #65112 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/65112
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Abi ^-^ proposed the following answer:
> Did you mean ClamAV ?
>
> Take a look at
>
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ClamAV
>
>
> Thank you ^-^
>

Revision history for this message
Abi ^-^ (abiyasa-eka) said :
#8

I think you can update it by type this command in terminal ...

sudo freshclam

Good luck ^-^

Revision history for this message
PAC Engineering (q-admin-pacengineering-com-au) said :
#9

Sorry, but I appreciate your help here.

Maybe it is my simple lack of understanding of Ubuntu programs and
commands, as I dont know. I tried to download the information you
suggested, but couldnt, so I looked at the website, and to my knowledge,
I have now downloaded the version 92, although it says there is a
version 95, which I think downloaded on my computer somewhere.

I do not have enough understanding of the syntax to make anything work
on this fucking thing. Im sick of it already and I will delete it and
put stupid microsoft crap on, just because it works easy with the things
I need it to.

If there was a book to look at, it would be great. Lessons or
something. Still, I dont know, because even if there was, there would
need to be some syntax understanding to download and read the fucking
thing. I know nothing, except that there are lots of things on my
computer now that don't do anything, and I cant just remove them, and
actually I cant do anything with this program. Yes, I can look at the
internet, type letters, send emails. Still, I cant scan to my printer,
and I cant update my antivirus program still, even after downloading a
new issue. And when I have a bug, which is a bug, and also a security
vulnerability, cos if it wasn't a but, it would work easily, and if it
wasnt a security vulnerability, then the antivirus would be able to just
protect from it. Due to there being no actual antivirus, it is a
security vulnerability. As for the other bloke who has his so called
sense of humour in that it is that I am not root, this next comment is
for him. "THAT IS THE BUG, YOU MORON!!! If you had a brain, you would
be able to explain what the fuck you mean, but you can't, can you." As
for you, and all other people who have tried to help me, thanks a lot.
I appreciate it. Still, I have exactly the same problem I started with.
It shouldnt be this hard. It really shouldnt. Sorry, but I dont have
the patience anymore. I will remove Ubuntu at the most practical time,
and try something else.

I am going mad frigging around with it. Half of my working week is
fucking around with this program, because I dont know the correct
language to make things work. There is no course for me to look at to
understand it, or at least I havent got one.

Revision history for this message
Bhavani Shankar (bhavi) said :
#10

/me reposts his old post

Linux as it is is safe because of the following reasons:

Since its open source thousands and millions of experts around the world look at the code and run the code and test it out for vulnerabilities and fix those vulnerabilities and release new updated packages.. So Its always recommended that to keep your system updated to the latest to keep your system secure....

Next up is viruses and malicious codes:

Let us take the case of a virus first...

Viruses arent easy to program in linux because of Ubuntu/Linux has very CLEAR definitions of groups and users, file ownerships and permissions.. So In ubuntu/linux if at all a virus is there it can affect only the user who ran the program.. And because of the file ownerships and permissions the USER will have a control over the system unlike in windows where the OS has control over the machine.. This makes Virus development in linux difficult to say the least..

Ref this article for more info:

http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/188

Next up through Email:

Most viruses and malware in Windows computers come in email or as voluntary or involuntary downloads from web sites.

I don't think anyone would be likely to be transferring email files between Linux and Windows because you can't read Linux email files in Windows, or Windows email files in Linux.
If someone used Ubuntu to take a backup from Windows and store it, that might re-infect the Windows operating system if the email was restored again from a backup but that could happen from any backup no matter where it was stored.

If you downloaded an infected file such as an .exe file for a game from a website in Linux and copied it into your Windows file system and clicked on it to install the game it would probably infect Windows alright.
On the other hand, if you downloaded an .exe file for Windows using Linux you would be a lot safer if you're smart. You could download the .exe file and scan it with AVG in Linux or any other virus scanner you can install in Ubuntu. You could also copy it into a shared data partition first instead of directly into Windows. Then you could boot Windows and scan the shared data partition with your antivirus in Windows before you copy the file into Windows and install it.
Therefore, I would say that by using Linux you would be increasing the safety and security of your Windows installation.

Next we shall take up malicious code:

To prevent running malicious code you can use an IDS (Intrusion Detection System)

snort is widely used as an IDS.. (IDS basically is just a trap sort of thing)

Snort on ubuntu here:

http://www.howtoforge.com/intrusion_detection_base_snort

You can also use prelude to achieve the same purpose:

http://www.prelude-ids.org/

Prelude is now an industry standard in IDS...

Next up there are various tools like nmap ettercap nessus netstat netcat cheops and so on to test the vulnerability of your system (Nessus is the best vulnerability scanner I found with all the deadly plugins)

One thing that is to be taken care of is avoiding physical access to unauthorised persons

Because in security Physical access = Root access we can do almost anything like

Use a live CD and getting admin access

In the case of ubuntu boot up in recovery mode and gain root access..

Booting from a removable disk will skip the hard disk's bootloader completely.

and social engineering like email bombing impersonating so on is the human element of security and it can be overcome by sufficient awareness

So at the last to summarise:

Linux is secure without physical access to unauthorised persons

Then why do you need antivirus stuff when you have all the facilities available?

I m on ubuntu for past 3 years without AV and its rock solid

Anyways, did you try sudo freshclam in a terminal?

Revision history for this message
PAC Engineering (q-admin-pacengineering-com-au) said :
#11

Much appreciated.

You may be right, and I appreciate that Linux is certainly more secure
than the spoilt brats at microsoft with their stuff.

Still, the problem I have I guess is being able to know what I actually
have on my system with what is running. When I saw the antivirus
without any signatures in it, it made me worry, because if that is the
case, what is the point of having it on there in the first place.

Also, I then tried to update it, and couldnt. Although there is an
option to update the signatures from the dropdown menu, there still isnt
permission for me to do it, so this seemed confusing in that I now had
something that wasnt only not working, but couldnt be fixed.

This is my interpretation of it, and hence my questions. To then hear
that it isnt a security vulnerability was interesting, as it is
specifically one, I thought. To have a program that is meant to assist
with security, yet it doesnt have the fingerprints to compare with, and
also I am not able to update when there is an update dropdown, sounds
like something is wrong.

I would love to maintain my Linux program, but I am unsure of how to use
it properly, it seems. Is there a manual somewhere, that can give me
different levels of training? If so, I will digest it thoroughly.

Also, thanks for your comments, as yes, they make sense.

Revision history for this message
Abi ^-^ (abiyasa-eka) said :
#12

Maybe you can try avg

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Antivirus/Avg

it has GUI, so i think you can use it more easily ....

when you try sudo freshclam, is it tell you some error message?

Thank you

Revision history for this message
Rajinder Sandhu (sandy744) said :
#13

come on guys I have downloaded AVAST Antivirus and it can be downloaded directly from their website meant for linux, working nicely and updating as per setting automatic or manual. Download from the following link
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-for-linux-workstation.html

it is free for home use.
that should serve the purpose.
Thanks
Rajinder Sandhu
Bangalore

Revision history for this message
anilmani (kurianmani) said :
#14

Well .. In a way I do not blame PAC for his short fuse. After using windows for quite a while one tend to be psyched and to a certain extent phobic when it comes to virus. It is virus , virus and more virus. If you loose sleep worrying about virus, I wont blame any windows user for that. And when a person comes from that situation and change over to Linux and if some one says.. hey you don't need any virus scanner in Linux, the initial response is going top be "Are you kidding me?" What do you think I am? a f***. The next question, If one doesn't need any virus scanner, then what is this AVAST, AVG, ClamAV etc doing???
Well.. it always pays to be careful do not take things to be granted. Having said that.... he may need to enable the "scan hidden files" to "no maximum size" under the options and save those preferences under view section. Well.. before that, there was no specific answer from him on typing out the sudo freshclam command. He haven't specified whether it asked for any password nor did he say whether he typed in the password. Hopefully he may have sorted out the issue by this time. (For me when I type in the freshclam command it ask me for the password and once I type in my password and hit enter it does update. No problems .. )

Revision history for this message
PAC Engineering (q-admin-pacengineering-com-au) said :
#15

Hey. Thanks for your input. Sorry, the short fuse wasn't meant except
from the reply by the one person instead of answering the question, it
felt like they insulted my intelligence and then suggested I was dumb by
suggesting something I had already taken into consideration. Yes, I did
get a little defensive, and hopefully, there are no bad ties between me
and that person, who I don't even know who it is now, nor is it
important.

And thanks also. Someone did assist me in the chat to update my
antivirus, although I can't recall how to do it a second time. I think
I wrote it down though.

So thanks to all who help. It is appreciated, but I guess I do have a
short fuse when felt like I am insulted.

I am not used to linux, and I do seem to encounter one thing after
another, but knowing there is a base of people ready to assist is great,
and hopefully, when I don't have such a demand in my workload, I will be
able to learn and assist myself one day. Also, I appreciate linux in
that really, Microsoft should have been paying royalties to Unix.
Still, this is business, and this is the world. I am happy not to use
microsoft on my computer. Very happy. Although I still can't scan with
my scanner, and have tried over and over. Can you suggest a scanner
that is easy to use with linux, both Ubuntu and Fedora? And cheap?lol.

Thanks.

Revision history for this message
Abi ^-^ (abiyasa-eka) said :
#16
Revision history for this message
Tom (tom6) said :
#17

Errr, try going up to the top taskbar and click on

Applications - Accessories - Terminal

that should open a terminal/command window/console. In the terminal console type (or copy&paste (with the mouse)) in

sudo freshclam

it will ask for your normal user password, not your SuperUser/Root one and it wont show any stars or anything while typing in the password as an extra security precaution.

I hope this helps and hasn't been said already!
Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

Revision history for this message
Tom (tom6) said :
#18

Ooops. now i have actually read a bit more of this thread i realise the problem is fixed already. Sorry for my last post! It does take time to get used to linux. It took me about 20 years to slowly build up the level of knowledge i have about Windows but in linux that took just a few months. Sadly most of the really tough stuff happens when you first start trying to use it. Windows is pre-installed on machines by experts with a lot of help from hardware manufacturers whereas we start as noobs and have to tweak the system ourselves!

I found there were 2 key times where i have been quite angry since starting using linux. The first was before i found the forums like this one and the second was when i realised i could have been using linux many many years ago and didn't need to have suffered through the problems and viruses and scams of the Windows world. In many ways i found myself going through a similar process to what i have seen people coming out of abusive relationships going through!!

Now it seems that about the only tense or angry people i see in a computer related context are Windows users (mostly i manage to avoid these) or people who are still very new to linux. With noobs i kinda expect them to go through this anger and just hope that they get as much fun and joy from linux as i have had. It's difficult not to be too smug because we know some of what you are going through and are probably slightly embarrassed about some things we did. At least i am.

Security is a touchy subject and the Windows world makes a lot of money by spreading paranoia and failing to write adequate code to prevent problems for users.

In linux a "security problem" is when someone notices that they can do a few things as root or access root privileges more easily than they feel they should. They write it up in alarm and the 'problem' usually gets fixed fairly fast before too many other people notice.

In Windows a "security problem" seems to be when half the worlds machines crash out to a BSOD.

Ok, i say 'usually' because i read somewhere about a known issue that had been open for about 2 years and even had a "How To" guide to help any potential virus makers to write a linux virus but no-one seems to have bothered, or if they have it doesn't seem to have spread far ;) at least not this far. Linux really is a major hassle for viruses to survive in let alone propagate faster than they get wiped out.

Open Source is great. My favourite virus is Bliss :) Only in a linux world would a virus keep a log of what it's doing and have "bliss -uninfect-programs-please" as a command!" rofls. I heard it made it past the alpha stage and got as far as beta before it's dev got bored and found something more interesting to do :) !! He even apologises on the bliss website for not having enough time to develop it further! lol

Good luck and regards all :)
Tom :)

Revision history for this message
Tom (tom6) said :
#19

To help you migrate from Windows there are a couple of guides here although i think you are probably already a bit more advanced than some sections in these so maybe just quickly skim though or use them as handy 'cheat-sheets' to look stuff up briefly

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwitchingToUbuntu/FromWindows

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FreeSoftwareAlternatives

http://winehq.org/
Note that "Wine Is Not an Emulator" as it uses a much more sophisticated approach to give Windows apps the speed and integration into menu's and almost everything like that that you would expect from running a native linux application, sometimes it takes a little work but their "AppDB" has a huge range of applications and how-to guides worth searching. Before running something in Wine try finding a native linux version in Synaptic Package Manager
System - Administration - Synaptic
normal user password again, not SuperUser/Root. The search button looks in descriptions as well as in titles, which lets me be a little more vague. If you were trying to get a printer working look for "cups" and if getting a flatbed-scanner try "xsane", alternatively look for "printers" or "scanners" although the list would be a little longer it would include the specific packages i first said. "Envy" is good for sorting out graphic drivers. Get "Wine" from Synaptic rather than their website. Things are always a little better from Synaptic or "Add/Remove Packages" or "apt-get" rather than from just some random place on the internet that you might not be too sure of.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/use-the-windows-key-for-the-start-menu-in-ubuntu-linux/

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Security

ClamAv seems to me the best antivirus although the only real use i have for an antivirus is to scan my Windows partitions and perhaps i could scan other people on my Lan. It does scan my linux partitions/'drives' but i can almost hear it laughing as it does that lol ;) Avg is good, Avast and all the rest are good but i prefer Clam for 2 main reasons. 1. It's relatively unknown (compared with avg) & 2. It's the standard one in Ubuntu, lol.

Anyway, i'm being too verbose again so
Good luck, regards and welcome in to linux-land, especially the Ubuntu corner :))
Tom :)

Revision history for this message
Tom (tom6) said :
#20

Errr, i've just thought of a couple more things that should sort everything else out before getting bogged down in my last 2 posts

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu
This sorts out multimedia. Just follow each of the steps through. I avoided the non-free section, it still didn't cost me anything though ;)

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SettingUpSamba
This is probably already set-up. It's for talking with Windows drives

Someone said that Windows users can't email to linux users and linux users can't email to Windows but this isn't true at all. I think i must have misunderstood what they were saying. The rest of their post looked right. You can change the defaults in OpenOffice by opening Writer (the Word Processor)
Tools - Options - Load/Save
and use the drop-down lists at the bottom to change the defaults (back one or 2 avoiding template saves) for all the Word Processor, Spreadsheet and Presentation packages.

Right, i'm off, promise ;)
Good luck and have fun, regards from
Tom :)

Revision history for this message
PAC Engineering (q-admin-pacengineering-com-au) said :
#21

Tom, thank you for your input mate. It is much appreciated. I am
currently in the moving process, namely migration. I hope to play more
when it is all over. Should be about three or four weeks. I will keep
the emails though and re-browse through them. I intend to learn the
linux system so as to be capable to not only use it, but maybe to use as
a system for a business environment.

So, yeah, I appreciate the comments and will go through them in more
depth after arriving in my new destination. At the moment I work in an
office and have a lot of deadlines due almost immediately, which is
great, but when these are over, I will focus on my learning of the
system.

Cheers.

On Fri, 2009-04-17 at 23:11 +0000, Tom wrote:
> Your question #65112 on clamav in ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/clamav/+question/65112
>
> Tom proposed the following answer:
> Errr, i've just thought of a couple more things that should sort
> everything else out before getting bogged down in my last 2 posts
>
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu
> This sorts out multimedia. Just follow each of the steps through. I avoided the non-free section, it still didn't cost me anything though ;)
>
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SettingUpSamba
> This is probably already set-up. It's for talking with Windows drives
>
> Someone said that Windows users can't email to linux users and linux users can't email to Windows but this isn't true at all. I think i must have misunderstood what they were saying. The rest of their post looked right. You can change the defaults in OpenOffice by opening Writer (the Word Processor)
> Tools - Options - Load/Save
> and use the drop-down lists at the bottom to change the defaults (back one or 2 avoiding template saves) for all the Word Processor, Spreadsheet and Presentation packages.
>
> Right, i'm off, promise ;)
> Good luck and have fun, regards from
> Tom :)
>

Revision history for this message
Tom (tom6) said :
#22

Ok, good luck! To use OpenOffice open the Word Processor

Applications - Office - Word Processor

Go to the menus and click on

Tools - Options - +Load/Save (in the side panel) - General

now near the bottom of the box change the 2 drop-down lists

 Text Document ... Microsoft Word 97/2000/Xp (1 step back up the dropdown)
 Spreadsheet ....... Microsoft Word 97/2000/Xp (2 steps back up the dropdown)
 Presentation ....... Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/Xp (2 steps back)

Job done! OpenOffice will now use standard M$ formats

Ignore my other emails, they are just for skimming through sometime and mostly the links are to reference things if you need to look stuff up.
Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

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