except ClamAV

I don't think people are saying there's literally no viruses for Linux, just that because Linux desktop use is so low, malware developers l developers focus on Windows because that's what most end users will be trying to run their software on.

It's not a secret that lots of Enterprise systems run Linux. Almost all switching and routing operating systems that run the entire internet are Linux based. But there isn't a person using those. They get configured and then run without user interaction. So their attack surface is different.

That's what people mean when they say there's no real malware for Linux.

Most "virus" infections this day are just programs that look legit and trick people into installing them. You're not going to get a Linux server that way.

First of all, username checks out.

Second, the thing about viruses (as opposed to other types of exploits) is that the user has to run them, and Linux doesn't make downloaded files executable by default the way Windows does. Nor are Linux users conditioned to download programs from random sketchy sources the way Windows users do.

Yea, I've got the same issue, i couldnt really find anything either so ive just been using portmaster and hopping that'll catch the virus if i ever get one.

Something easy you can do for web browsers is just have at least two installed: one that you use for personal info and trustworthy sites, and the other that you use for unknown/sketchy sites.

At least in Linux, when you install something as a flatpak, it’s automatically in a sandbox. Another example is that some game launchers can automatically launch games in their own sandbox.

Even then, however, often you have to give those flatpaks access to more system resources to work, which reduces the effectiveness of the sandbox and give viruses other paths to escape from. It's not a lot of flatpaks I've had to do this with, but for the ones I have, it's been a pain and a little bit frustrating that I have to open access to certain system/user files for it to work.

Also, I've just had trouble with certain flatpaks and their packaging for a long time now, but I've had various issues that are frustrating with both flatpaks and appimages that I simply don't have when installing from the apt repository. Sandboxing is useful in certain cases for sure, but maybe not for everything sadly.