Is linux free from viruses?

Linux or Mac cannot be infected by a virus or trojan or spyware as long as the user does not log in as root.

The reason that hackers target Windows is because Windows is easily exploitable.

Mac and Linux use a totally different security structure that make them virtually invulnerable to exploitation.

That argument '' If Linux and Mac was used as often as Windows then they would be infected by viruses too'' is pure sophistry.

The reason that Linux and Mac is not targeted is because it is a waste of time to try to hack those systems from the outside.

The only way to hack or infect a Linux or Mac operating system is for the user to do it intentionally logged in as administrator with root privileges.

Is linux free from viruses?virus scan

I thumbs upped all of the people who had good answers. Bottom line is that you usually run Linux without administrative privileges. So a virus can not execute with them because even you do not have rights to do damage.

Browse the web as root in Linux and you will die quickly as you will die with Microsoft. But it is not needed and strongly advised against doing that.

RJ

Is linux free from viruses?anti virus scan

nope, but hackers target windows because 90% of people use that. This is why linux and MAC don't have many viruses.
Because the various background processes in Linux run as special users, and the system is run by normal users nearly all the time, viruses can not get into the system, someone who got into the system would maybe be able to damage some private files, but a virus or trojan would find this very difficult. Since any admin involves a change to root (the admin user) until you have finidhed the changes, and then you drop back to normal user, and root never reads his own mail (it is normally forwarded to a normal user) there is nothing for a virus to grab.
It isn't free from viruses but the system has lower amount of virus as compared to windows due to it's user Hierarchy in which only certain users can have root access to damage system files. This means that it is more difficult for a virus to do much damage as compared to windows.