Kaspersky has released a new virus removal tool named KVRT for the Linux platform, allowing users to scan their systems and remove malware and other known threats for free.
The security firm notes that despite the common misconception that Linux systems are intrinsically secure from threats, there has been a constant supply of "in the wild" examples that prove otherwise, most recently, the XZ Utils backdoor.
Kaspersky's new tool isn't a real-time threat protection tool but a standalone scanner that can detect malware, adware, legitimate programs abused for malicious purposes, and other known threats and offers to clean them.
Copies of malicious files that are deleted or disinfected are stored in a quarantine directory at '/var/opt/KVRT2024_Data/Quarantine' (for root users) in a non-harmful form.
The application uses a frequently updated antivirus database to scan the entire system for matches, but users need to download a new copy each time for the latest definitions.