Why is Linux not affected by Ransomware?

Hello, back with me, Bayu Ajie, this time I will continue the post entitled “Laptop affected by ransomware? don't panic”, yes if you haven't read it please read it first. Okok, before I get to the point, I want to tell you for a moment, at that time I got a question from a friend of mine.

"How come you don't know why Ransomware doesn't run on Linux? ”

"Eh bro, do you have Ransomware for Linux?"

And others, ok I will answer on this blog, friends, why am I being answered here? hi why? Yes, to be honest, I need visitors and Adsense for sure hehehe. Yep, why am I lying hehehe, honestly it's better, one more time, I want to promote it, for friends or visitors here who haven't joined the Seccodeid forum, let's join and register now. 

Link ? https://forum.seccodeid.com/register

Ok, I'm not a loyal Linux user here, yep, I still need Windows for my daily needs, I'm not a Linux enthusiast, I'm just an ordinary user who likes to seek new experiences and insights. I use Linux usually for learning resources and for my TA assignment next semester.

Ok, without further ado, let's get straight to the point, if I make a mistake, please correct me, friends. What is Linux? why is Linux different from Windows?

Linux is an open source operating system (Open Source) built on top of the Linux kernel. With its free and open source license, the GNU General Public License, the Linux source code can be freely modified, used and redistributed by anyone. Who is the creator of Linux? The creator of Linux is Linus Torvalds. Windows was made by Bill Gates, what about IOS? who is the maker of IOS, the maker of IOS is Steve Jobs. yes they are the originator of the operating system that we use.

Why is Linux different from Windows? Yes like I said at the beginning Linux is free, is that the only difference? Noo is still there, UNIX-based Linux is not DOS 32 bit or 64 bit. The second is the system on the file, yes Linux everything is a file, such as keyboard, mouse, etc. Wait you can understand the file types in more detail here.  

Common files

What are common files? Common files can be called ordinary files, such as txt, images, videos, songs and others. Can it be in ASCII or Binary code? What is ASCII and Binary? yep you can find out for yourself. Here I explain a little briefly. Why ? because I still have a lot to do, next time I'll make it hehe.

File Directory 

What is that directory file? directory files can be called folders or sub folders ( sub directories )

Device files 

Have you ever used Windows? if so, you must have come across something called Drive C, D, E, F. On Linux or Unix it's different, in linux the connected device is either USB, keyboard, mouse. It will be treated as a file, in contrast to Windows, for example, if you insert a USB in Windows, Drive E or F will appear like that, for example, if you have a partition on the hard drive, in Linux it will be dev/sda 1, dev/sda 2 and other.

Convert a filename

Ok, that's a little explanation about the file, then what else is different? yep, keep reading my explanation, ok, for the next one is "File name convention". In Windows, you cannot have 2 files with the same name in the same folder. Example 

On Linux, you can create file names with the same, even in the same folder, you can, but with different names such as lowercase and uppercase letters, you need to remember that, don't believe it, see the photo below

You can see the files that I blocked, yep on Windows it can't be with the same file name, on Linux you can do it

Licence

Yep the last is the license, on Windows the license is paid, on linux it's free or free, the GNU license, on Linux you can have access to Source Code on Linux and can be changed as you wish. Windows can't.

Why is Linux not affected by Ransomware?

Ok, after understanding about Linux and Windows, you are still confused why Linux is rarely affected by Viruses or Ransomware?

As I talked about above, the base operating system on Windows and Linux is different, yep. If you listen carefully, you will know what I will write below.

Linux is made of Unix

The Linux operating system is based on Unix. Unlike Windows, which uses 32-bit or 64-bit DOS, from the structure of the operating system to the files, don't be happy just yet, Linux could be infected with a virus, there must be a reliable virus developer out there, so the virus can infect Linux. also :p for that I emphasize once again, all back again to the user or the user. If the user is careful, we can prevent any operating system with the threat of viruses.

Linux usage policy 

Yep, you've heard the word root? yes root is the highest privilege in Linux, if you understand how to update Linux or Downloads, definitely ask for root access, yes this is a policy or rule that is in Linux, if I mention Linux policies, you can read at below:

1.  Linux will not automatically install or update software from the internet unless you have whitelisted the repository ( sources.list ). If you want to update, downloads will definitely ask for root access, unlike Windows, it will automatically update.

2.  Have you heard of sources.list? on Linux, for what it is, its function is for Linux updates to get updated software only from verified repositories ( sources.list ). Where is this file located? in etc/apt/sources.list

3.  If someone can put malware into one of the repositories, Linux can kill that repository in a few minutes. OKI ( Therefore ) the system or malicious program cannot run widely

It's hard for developers to develop viruses on Linux

Linux presents considerable difficulties for ransomware developers. Its users are server admins or security-conscious computer experts. Most Linux software comes from repositories that are closely monitored or compiled from source. Root access or permissions on Linux make it difficult to run an executable file with the necessary permissions to access and encrypt files. But there is a possibility that Linux can be affected by Ransomware, as I explained above, out there there must be developers who are reliable in making programs, it may happen for Linux users.

Reliable Linux users on computers

Yes, I continue the point above here, Linux users on average are people who are proficient about IT or computers, hear - hear ordinary developers to virus developers are Linux users. Therefore, they know how to secure computers from the threat of viruses or malicious programs, moreover they understand the ins and outs of the operating system.

Less popular than Windows

According to research results, the average use Windows. You can see the graph below, yes this is the result of a widely used operating system in 2021. You can check it yourself in open source

This is the main reason that Windows is often targeted by virus threats, because developers will be more profitable to attack operating systems that are widely used, there is a lot of money hahaha, you can see here there are fewer Linux users than others, it could be a possibility that a virus or malware attacks Windows instead. But if users are very concerned about security, it will undoubtedly be safe from virus threats.

Conclusion

The conclusion you can get is, there is no such thing as a secure system, I've heard there is ransomware that can run on Linux, well if you want to search please can search in open sources, many kinds of viruses, not only ransomware, many types new virus and not identified anti virus, therefore it all goes back to the respective user, if you do not want to get a virus. You can learn about computer security, from the operating system, network, and so on. For that Windows users who can often be targeted by viruses are more vigilant, many new methods are used by hackers, install anti-virus, update your software, and be careful when using the computer.

Okay, from me, if you want to ask questions, you can go directly to the forum, don't forget to like the Seccodeid fanspage link: https://www.facebook.com/Seccodeid-119062466729392/  

Keyword Search