you guys have yet to fail me, so im positive you can help me with this! im in the progress of trying to just completely switch over to linux (Ubuntu). im VERY happy with this OS. the other day i was browsing the web via Firefox, and all of a sudden i get some screenshot of a Microsoft Windows window saying it's scanning for spyware, need to download this to get rid of it, etc. I've tried to google some virus/spyware stuff for it but to no avail really. I can still use the computer, just not Firefox. any ideas?

Welcome to Geeks to Go

Well I 'm not sure if you are running an AV or not But I have a link to The ubuntu site --> HERE

I know that our malware team here trains for Windows infections...

Some one else chime in if they have any other info...

But if your unprotected it is possible to get "something" virus wise in linux

Good luck

This post has been edited by cbarnard: Oct 15 2009, 07:00 AM

just ignore those all those thing that might pop up on the sites you visit, as you computer isn't infected at all, just that some sites you visit are tampered with, so yes they will spring up some window that say that you actually have a windows infection usually with an ad for some remedy that of course you have to pay for, but no, rest assured, your computer is untouched, why/because you are not running as root, so you computer is locked tight

i cant go anywhere when i load FF. its there as soon as i load it!

I will see you on the Ubuntu forum then, here is the link,

http://ubuntuforums.org/index.php

Uninstall firefox.

Purge it to make sure you get rid of everything and then reinstall it.

Everything you have installed on the machine up to this point, has it been only from Ubuntu repositories? Various added repositories? Anything from source or binary (.deb)?


***EDIT***

Actually after researching this issue I am guessing it is DNS related, could you run this command for me and paste the output:



This post has been edited by VinnyTAMU: Oct 15 2009, 09:34 AM

actually i downloaded avast! antivirus and it seems to have done the trick. it found 2 viruses and my FF is working just fine. Vinny, do you still want me to do that? do i run that in "Terminal"? sorry... linux nOOb here

Yea why don't you do that just to make sure you are searching some malicious domain for a DNS server.

just out of interest - what were the virus's found and where where they,
if they were .exe's then they can't run

i've never come across a linux virus 'in the wild' and i've had loads of scanners say my 'c' drive is infected - but it never is,
mainly because i don't have a 'c' drive, or 'd' or any windows designation

and i only download software from my repositories

edit - have a nosy here https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Linuxvirus

This post has been edited by hawklord: Oct 17 2009, 02:22 PM