Fighting malware with static and dynamic code analysis
Code Patrol
Linux offers some sophisticated tools for understanding how malware can slip through the gaps in an unsuspecting application.
The potential danger of malware is a concern for many computer users. Your desktop PC, your smartphone, and even the networked smart gadgets around your home or office are potentially vulnerable to thousands of rootkits, spyware, and Trojans. As anti-malware software developers create new methods to discover and block malware, malware authors create new methods of circumventing these safeguards.
Linux users have long enjoyed the minimal attention they receive from malware authors. Malware does exist for the Linux platform, but it has a difficult time infecting most Linux systems. A major strength of open source software is the speed with which exploit-causing bugs are noticed, diagnosed, and fixed. This rapid response limits the time interval in which malicious software can exploit these vulnerabilities. Unless malware can somehow trick a user with a superuser account into installing it, or the system is not properly configured or updated, it often has difficulty infecting Linux.
Windows users have not been so lucky. More than a billion PCs running various flavors of Windows exist worldwide, and such a large installed base of similar software makes it a very tempting target for malware authors. The large size and complexity of the Windows codebase, as well as delays in the availability of patches for issues, provides ample opportunity for vulnerabilities to be discovered and exploited by malware authors.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
-
Happy Birthday, Linux
On August 25, Linux officially turns 34.
-
VirtualBox 7.2 Has Arrived
With early support for Linux kernel 6.17 and other new additions, VirtualBox 7.2 is a must-update for users.
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.
-
Debian 13.0 Officially Released
After two years of development, the latest iteration of Debian is now available with plenty of under-the-hood improvements.
-
Upcoming Changes for MXLinux
MXLinux 25 has plenty in store to please all types of users.
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.