How to Install ClamAV Linux Antivirus on Ubuntu Linux

This article explains how to install ClamAV Linux Antivirus on Ubuntu Linux.

ClamAV, an open-source antivirus engine for detecting and removing trojans, viruses, malware, and other threats, can easily be installed on Ubuntu to help protect your systems.

Installing ClamAV on Ubuntu Linux can help protect your system against viruses, trojans, malware, and other malicious threats that can harm your system. Although Linux is generally considered a more secure operating system than Windows, it is not immune to malware and other threats.

ClamAV is an open-source antivirus engine that can be easily installed on Ubuntu to help keep your system safe and secure. It supports multiple file formats and signature languages that most viruses use to exploit systems and performs multi-threaded scans. Additionally, it includes a command-line utility for on-demand file scanning and signature updates.

When you’re ready to install ClamAV, continue with the steps below

On the Ubuntu desktop, open your terminal by pressing your keyboard’s Ctrl — Alt — T keys. This should open the terminal.

When the terminal opens, type the commands below to install ClamAV

sudo apt install clamav clamav-daemon

Now that ClamAV is installed, you can use the command line terminal to scan for viruses and malware. Run the commands below to scan your home folder to test it out.

clamscan --infected --remove --recursive /home

You should get a summary after a successful scan.

----------- SCAN SUMMARY -----------
Known viruses: 6541075
Engine version: 0.99.4
Scanned directories: 136
Scanned files: 401
Infected files: 0
Data scanned: 63.20 MB
Data read: 43.88 MB (ratio 1.44:1)
Time: 23.938 sec (0 m 23 s)

You can run the commands below to scan for infected files and folders on the entire system.

sudo clamscan --infected --remove --recursive /

For simplicity, you can install the front-end (GUI) client on Ubuntu by running the commands below.

sudo apt install clamtk

After installing the GUI client, you can go to the Dash / Activities Overviews and search for ClamTk. Next, open the client and begin setting up ClamAV for your desktop.

That’s it!

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