Linux, firewall, anti-virus

[Ceefer]

I'm completely new to Linux. I have just installed Xandros 3 on my 'play' computer listed below (dual boot with XP). The installation was very smooth and trouble-free, and I'm very impressed with this OS. However, could someone advise me as to whether or not I need anti-virus and firewall protection with Linux?

[0iD]

Never used an antivirus in Linux, even though I know I should. As for a Firewall I've been using Firestarter from http://www.fs-security.com/
It's a good newbie firewall that I could get my head around.

[directhex]

clam-av is a sensible antivirus, but with only about 30 known linux viruses, it's not the most pressing of needs

[oyster]

With Linux, anything that you download cannot, by definition, be executed (you have to chmod +x filename to make a file executable). Trojans are therefore pretty rare
Since normal users cannot update system files (you never connect to the 'net as root, right?), viruses are also rare, and mostly impotent to damage your system even if you get one.
There have been a few cases of worms infecting Linux boxes, due to some exploitable bugs. The best way to stop this is to ensure that any security patches issued by your distro are applied promptly.
Firewalling is built-in to Linux, no extra software is required, packages like firestarter and guarddog are just newbie-friendly front ends to the built-in firewall.

Don't run as root, only download software from reputable sources, and you won't have a problem.

[mattjgalloway]

I will concur with that.

Clam-av is ok, but you're unlikely to need it unless you deal with Samba shares (i.e. you have an area on your harddrive where Windows PCs can read and write to). It's not really necessary for normal usage.

As for a firewall... is it KDE with Xandros? If so then try KMyFirewall, it's pretty nice and easy to setup. Other than that, try Guarddog. But as oyster says, they are just GUI frontends to the "built in" Linux iptables. Do a google search for iptables and you'll be able to start reading about them.