infected. Again, granted this is a pretty rare circumstance, but it can and DOES happen. I am a Linux user myself, but do not suffer under any false sense of security. NO OS is immune . . . arrogant Apple users found that out a few years ago. Does using Linux REDUCE your risk of getting an infection? Probably. But there is no such thing as 100% security . . . unless of course you encase your machine in concrete and never visit the Internet. There are Linux versions of some free antivirus programs . . . Avast and Clam (Clam is even in the repository for Ubuntu) are two good examples. Plus, there are two Linux rootkit checkers in the Ubuntu repository. Should you run an on-demand scan with these things? Probably you should at least do it occasionally. Avira has a Linux command line version that can be made to run as a TSR/On-Access scanner ("daemon" in Linux lingo . . . actually, any antivirus in Linux can be made a daemon, but the manipulation is complex and probably overkill . . . on-demand is sufficient.) But at the end of the day, it all comes down to common sense (I think somebody here already mentioned that.) My favorite sig quote: "Ultimately, the only protection against phishing, forged Web pages, downloading malware, and other threats is the technology located between the user's ears." As far as getting an infection, I think the best way to deal with it