My laptop came installed with Windows 10 Pro and has Antivirus Protection.
I planned to install Ubuntu alongside windows in a dual-boot configuration. So I installed Ubuntu with 100GB of space. However, I don't have antivirus on my Ubuntu system, so in the event of a virus I am afraid it might affect Windows as well.
If a virus infects my Ubuntu installation, will it also affect my Windows installation? Also, how do I protect myself from viruses on Ubuntu?
Yes, only when some Russian hacker specifically wants to infect all over your device. But normally, it is very unlikely that if your ubuntu is infected with a virus then it will also affect windows.
When you boot ubuntu, only partitions assigned for ubuntu will be active (you can still have access to windows partition though). Software that you have installed on windows will not run in ubuntu and vice-versa.
I can't remember the last time I installed an antivirus on my device. For the normal daily purpose, you have windows defender. I recommend uninstalling another third-party antivirus as it slows down your device unless you really need it. Also, Linux is highly secure than windows. I have been using Debian for almost 4 years.
It is a common misconception that Linux is more secure than Windows. Malware exists for all the systems, Windows, Linux-based, Mac etc.
If we look at the consumer market share of operating systems, we find that most of the user base is Windows PC. Therefore hackers, to maximize their profit should develop malware for Windows. You will see a trend in that a lot of malware has been developed for Windows since they have a greater chance of getting what they want. Who knows, there might be vulnerabilities in Linux that are yet to be exploited. On most Linux distributions, users on Linux-based systems do not have root privileges by default. Only, only you can protect your system. Ensure that you follow good security policies to make sure there is less chance to get your PC infected
