Tutorial HowTo Install ClamAV in Ubuntu.

We recently decided to look into one of the most well known Open Source Antivirus Available. ClamAV.

ClamAV is an open-source antivirus engine that was initially released in 2001 by Tomasz Kojm, designed for detecting a wide range of malware, including viruses, trojans, and other malicious software. Originally developed for Unix-based systems, ClamAV quickly gained popularity due to its effectiveness in scanning email gateways and files. Over time, it expanded to support Windows and macOS, making it a versatile tool across different platforms. The project was acquired by Sourcefire in 2007, and later by Cisco in 2013, which helped further develop and maintain its capabilities. ClamAV offers on-demand scanning, a multi-threaded daemon for better performance, and an automatic signature update system to ensure protection against new threats. Its flexible command-line interface and integration capabilities make it a popular choice in open-source and enterprise environments, especially where automation and customization are essential.

While ClamAV is a widely used open-source antivirus, it has notable limitations in terms of detection rates and performance compared to commercial antivirus solutions. Its detection rate is generally lower, often struggling with more sophisticated and newer malware, particularly zero-day threats. Additionally, ClamAV’s scanning process can be slow, especially when dealing with large volumes of files or high-traffic environments, due to its resource-heavy nature. Its reliance on signature-based detection also means it is less effective against polymorphic and fileless malware, which require more advanced heuristic or behavioral analysis. Though regularly updated, the slower speed of updates and occasional false positives further reduce its effectiveness in environments requiring top-tier security. Despite these limitations, ClamAV remains a valuable tool for basic antivirus needs, especially in open-source and customizable environments.

We will try to install it for Ubuntu to Evaluate it.

└──╼ $sudo apt-get install clamav clamav-daemon
└──╼ $clamscan --version
ClamAV 1.0.5/27398/Sat Sep 14 10:42:15 2024

Stop the service to run an update of the database definitions

└──╼ $sudo systemctl stop clamav-freshclam

└──╼ $sudo freshclam
Sun Sep 15 00:36:51 2024 -> ClamAV update process started at Sun Sep 15 00:36:51 2024
Sun Sep 15 00:36:51 2024 -> daily.cld database is up-to-date (version: 27398, sigs: 2066825, f-level: 90, builder: raynman)
Sun Sep 15 00:36:51 2024 -> main.cvd database is up-to-date (version: 62, sigs: 6647427, f-level: 90, builder: sigmgr)
Sun Sep 15 00:36:51 2024 -> bytecode.cvd database is up-to-date (version: 335, sigs: 86, f-level: 90, builder: raynman)

Start the service again

└──╼ $sudo systemctl start clamav-freshclam