ubuntu firewall and av

hi,

i am new to ubuntu and would like to know about security programs in general.
in windows, a firewall and a real-time residential antivirus is recommended. is this also the case in ubuntu 8.04 hardy heron? we already have firestarter as a firewall and clamav as an antivirus, but don't know how to verify if they are serving their function.
can other av's be installed and ran as on-demand scanners without conflict? how is this done? newbie-newbies here.

 

Linux anti-viruses usually do not have an active scanner as Linux does not get viruses very often. ClamAV, by default, only has an on-demand scanner. I also would be cautious about running it on a Windows NTFS partition, as it can cause some serious problems. This I found out first hand.

If you are behind a router, the router should be performing the firewall function. Also, I believe Ubuntu already includes a pre-configured firewall.

 

thanks for the reply