Does linux really act as an virus killer or was i just lucky !!!!!

[shravan]

Hi guys i just wanted to ask if anybody could explain this to me.
A few days back my desktop contracted a strange virus which i later
found out was called the recycler virus.
Symptoms of the virus :
1)`Every folder and sub folder on my system has a hidden folder called
Recycle ~~
2) All the folder have turned into an application that is they have
become <foldername>.exe
A small note here. This is an extremely common virus and 99 % of our
college computers have been infected by it.

Remedies i tried.
1)Renaming the folders back to their original names without the .exe
extension but no use. Throws an error saying "this application name
cannot be changed" . Great now windows is calling folders applications
what next i ask !!!!
2)Using the usual free suit of anti virus' like Avast , Aviara and
AVG. Well no use. AVG even got corrupt. That was a big set back.
3)However Norton did something i was shocked by. It directly deleted
those .exe files with out even a confirm message. So now i hate
symantec because they screwed my data.

How it got fixed (The linux part comes in here.)
I connected my hard drive to my notebook and booted it in linux (btw
my notebook has only linux in it. Was greatly motivated my the CoFSUG
inauguration speach). And guess what when i checked the folder list
there were all folders and not .exe applications. I checked the
properties just to be sure and they all showed the correct size of my
folder contrary to what windows showed when they were application.

Punch Line : I have no idea how Linux managed to what big names in the
anti virus industry failed to do. If anybody can explain me this i
would really really be glad....

Shravan Aras.
"The more i learn computers the more i realize how dum they really
are."

[Raghavendra Belapure]

Hi shravan,

Please boot your system on windows and check if all those
exe's are not there.
Linux actually shows the files which are not shown under windows. It
does not delete your files automkatically.
So see if your windows file system has got rid of all those
exe files.

Some days ago, my pc also contracted this virus. But i was
lucky that my AVG antivirus detected it on my pen drive only and
quarantined it.
But disadvantage of AVG is it does not heal or delete it. It only quarantines.
So i did it very trivial way. I just went through every folder without
running the exe file.Because when you run that <folder>.exe , It
starts as a process which can be seen in Task manager. And this proces
spreads the virus on your Hard Drive. So, i deleted all such exe's and
to my surprise, they didn't come back..
To avoid accidently clicking on the exe, you can do this from linux.


So see if Your Windows System got rid of the virus by booting
from windows.

Cheers!!

[अभिजित Abhijit]

I don't think Linux solved your problem. Virus became active only on
Windows. I guess the .exe files will be shown again when you connect
your PD to windows.

The virus may be still resident on your windows machine.

Linux is NOT a virus killer. Nobody has tried to make it so. Though
there exists one antivirus on Linux server and it is not used for
Linux, but for windows data that goes through those servers.


Abhijit

--
अभिजित अ. मी. Abhijit M.
Phone: +91 9422308125

[purva savaji]

Hi,

    Even I have the same problem , but I dont think deleting it from linux will help , because it is also there in my c drive and deleting it would result in curruption of windows. So what to do? Do we have any solution ?
 

[Raghavendra Belapure]

Hi purva,

 

By Deleting, i didn't meen that you delete your entire folder.

There is a <folder name>.exe file located inside the folder. You should delete that.

One way of doing this is searching for all *.exe and then deleting all the files that have folder icon.

If you delete the whole folder, you will end up in system crash. So don't do that.

 

[अभिजित Abhijit]

Delete your windows Partition and switch to Linux :)
:D
- a.

अभिजित अ. मी. Abhijit M.
Phone: +91 9422308125

On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 5:37 PM, Raghavendra

[Raghavendra Belapure]

Quite a good suggestion!! :D :D

2009/8/7 अभिजित Abhijit <abhi...@gmail.com>

[Apoorv Parle]

Actually the virus is making the Folder as a hidden+system folder, so you can't even see it when you have show hidden folders enabled. Next the virus creates copies of itself with names same as the folders. In addition the virus file also has the same icon as the folder. That's why you thought that the folders are converted into files. but actually the folder is there altight as you see in linux but in addition to it there is also a virus file. Upload the file to virustotal.com from linux or windows and you will get the details of the virus.

Absence of proof is not proof of absence.
----
AP

[Harshal Jain]

r there any viruses 4 linux??
bcoz i hav seen the download link for antivirus for linux ( @
http://www.quickheal.co.in/downloads.asp)

--
Regards ,
Harshal Jain

“UNIX is simple. It just takes a genius to understand its simplicity.”
– Dennis Ritchie

[swapnil kulkarni]

     These viruses are particularly for windows.They probanly scan windows though you are in Linux.
    I have never heard about the Linux Viruses before.If present, viruses will not become active until you run it.And I don't think that anyone can run virus program though he/she is knowing about it. It will not run because you are well known about the processes in ubuntu.They will not start automatically except the system previlaged processes.
                                                                 kulkarni Swapnil Sudhakarrao
                                                                           CoFSUG

[pritam]

just check this link
http://www.desktoplinux.com/articles/AT3307459975.html

On Sat, Aug 8, 2009 at 8:11 AM, Harshal Jain <harsha...@gmail.com> wrote: