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ClamAV 0.94.x and Ubuntu / Debian

ClamAV 0.94.x and Ubuntu / Debian

Posted Oct 6, 2009 17:01 UTC (Tue) by proski (subscriber, #104)
In reply to: ClamAV 0.94.x and Ubuntu / Debian by rfunk
Parent article: ClamAV 0.94.x end of life - with prejudice

Perhaps Ubuntu could provide a fixed version that's immune to the disabling update.


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ClamAV 0.94.x and Ubuntu / Debian

Posted Oct 6, 2009 17:23 UTC (Tue) by foom (subscriber, #14868) [Link]

....and then what? You still wouldn't have working updated rules.

And what good is a virus checker without updated rules?

ClamAV 0.94.x and Ubuntu / Debian

Posted Oct 6, 2009 18:26 UTC (Tue) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link]

It's a fact of life that some programs are not compatible with long time support releases. Antivirus software is a perfect example, as it has to deal with an evolving adversary.

ClamAV 0.94.x and Ubuntu / Debian

Posted Oct 8, 2009 13:47 UTC (Thu) by epa (subscriber, #39769) [Link]

I think there might be some misunderstanding of what 'long term support' means. It does not mean 'an unchanging lump of code fixed for all time with only grudging security updates'. It means that your vendor undertakes to maintain the software and make whatever changes may be needed to keep it working effectively, while avoiding changes that will stop it working. (These two requirements do conflict a little, since any change at all has the chance of breaking something.)

In this case, the only meaningful way of providing long term support for an antivirus product is to keep it updated with the latest code and the latest virus definitions. To keep it frozen at an old (and therefore ineffective) version is not support at all.

ClamAV 0.94.x and Ubuntu / Debian

Posted Oct 6, 2009 18:38 UTC (Tue) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106) [Link]

Rather, to get the updated rules you'd have to download the full CVDs rather than incremental updates, increasing the load on their servers.

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