Linux is an operating system, which is often hailed as a better platform than its competitors, as far as security vulnerabilities are concerned. The beauty lies in the way permissions are assigned by Linux. But, the strange fact is that though it is an open source operating system, Linux is the least favorite target of malware creators. The reason lies in the fact that Linux is less widely used as compared to operating systems like Windows. However, there is no operating system in the world, which is completely secure. Therefore, a little extra security is always desired by the business users.

You can use some tools provided below to keep your Linux system secure from external threats.

1. ClamAV

Sourcefire’s ClamAV is one of the best antivirus software for Linux. It’s free and it can detect malware, viruses, Trojans and other malicious applications. It is also available as preinstalled antivirus in some of the Linux-based devices. It comes with command-line utilities for on-demand file scanning, multi-threaded scanning daemon and automatic signature updates. You can also use the core library of this antivirus with Microsoft’s Immunet 3.0.

2. Snort

Snort is also offered by Sourcefire, and it offers the benefits of anomaly based inspection, protocol and signature. It is a network intrusion prevention and detection system. There are around 300,000 registered users of snort and till date, it has witnessed millions of downloads. As far as network protection is concerned, it is one of the most widely used technology globally.

3. Wireshark

If someone is interested in interactively browsing the traffic and capturing it on a computer network, this tool is going to help him in a big way. It is basically a network protocol analyzer. Apart from Linux, it is compatible with many operating systems such as Solaris, OSx, Windows, NetBSD, and FreeBSD. You can browse the captured data through some graphical user interface or TTY-mode TShark utility.

4. John the Ripper

It is a password cracker, which detects weak passwords. It is an open-source cracker and comes free of cost. You can get its “pro” versions compatible with Macs and Linux, though it is mostly available in source code form. Its Linux version is available for download from $40 and is prepackaged.

5. Nmap

Nmap stands for Network Mapper; it is also an open source tool for security auditing or network exploration, and it comes free of cost. But it can also be used in many other tasks such as to monitor host or service uptime, to manage service upgrade schedules, and to manage network inventory. It is compatible with all popular operating systems. It is used in many movies, including the the Girl with Dragon tattoo, the Bourne Ultimatum and the Matrix Reloaded.

6. Chkrootkit

If you want to check the rootkit infections on your Linux system, you can use this free tool, which will allow you to check it locally. Though it is a popular option, another useful alternative is Rootkit Hunter.

7. Nessus

The company boasts around 5 million downloads so far, making it an extremely popular threat scanner worldwide. This software offers many features such as vulnerability analysis for your security veil, data discovery, asset profiling, configuration auditing, and high-speed discovery. It is free for download for individuals, but for enterprise/corporate use, you have to subscribe it for $1200 per year for scanner.

There are many other security tools for Linux operating system, apart from the ones mentioned above. These tools are extremely good for vulnerability scanning, detection and fixing these security threats. In order to get peace of mind, you can use one or more of these tools, according to your need. If you have any other product in mind, feel free to mention it in the commands below.