I have clamtk! Should I set clamtk for manual or automatic updates? Clam says that if my computer is receiving automatic updates then I should set the wizard at automatic I have no idea if my computer is now receiving them automatically or not If I am receiving automatic updates how would I even know that the process was happening ? I rather like checking for updates manually. I can actually see and know that the update process is happening. Where and how does 'sudo freshclam' fit into all this? When , why and how would I use it ? When would it become unnecessary or worse than that? Frequently when I use 'sudo freshclam' I get weird messages at the console to the effect that the update process is locked or another clam process is operative. Why? Then , later on, if I use 'sudo freshclam' it works just fine. No problem. Why? What happened to set it right? All that being said, I like clamtk. Unlike Commodo antivirus for linux, it actually works!!! It actually notices problems and allows me to quarantine them. I use chrome under ubuntu 12.04. I know nothing about computers or ubuntu Thanks!
2 Answers
You're not telling the version of ClamTK, but assuming you are on a late version of Ubuntu (e.g. Saucy/13.10), the version provided in Ubuntu Software centre (or Synaptic) should be v4.41 or something like that. (Note that ClamTK GUI app has a versioning separated from the core clam deamon/clamscan, which is on version 0.98 something.)
First of all, I would recommend downloading and installing the latest ClamTK version (currently v5.05) from http://code.google.com/p/clamtk/ (choose the Debian .deb package and allow Gdebi or Ubuntu software centre to install, either will probably start when you choose to open the file). The GUI of version 5 is much richer than of the v4 series.
When opening ClamTK GUI, you should select "Update Assistant" and choose "I would like to update signatures myself" (unless you have manually set up a cron job or similar). Ubuntu does not automatically update the clam AV signatures (as far as I know...not happened on any of my systems).
After having selected the manual option above, go back to the home screen of ClamTK, then select "Scheduler". You will now get another window allowing you to set a time of the day for your computer to check/update signatures (virus definitions). The same window will also allow you to schedule a daily scan of your home directory.
Finally, you should go back to the home screen of ClamTK and click "Settings". In this window, you should also tick (enable) the option "Check for updates to this program". (Unless you realise a performance issue, you should tick all options in order to stay as safe as possible.)
Hope this was helpful! :-) alfs
Based on reading other posts, ClamTK runs a service that updates freshclam so you don't have to manually do that. If you want to update the GUI, open ClamTK and click on "Home" which takes you to the version downloads. Select the version for your Linux system and save to file. It may work on other systems to take the default of "Open with Software Install" but it didn't work on Ubuntu 20.04. I had to save the file to downloads and then run with software installer once downloaded. In this case the .deb file will open the app installer with "Remove" for your old version, then launch the file again to install the new version. Sudo apt-get install clamtk will give you version 6.02 and the current version is 6.06. Again, this is only for the GUI. If you have ClamTK you don't need to manually update the signatures (ClamAV) unless you have specified manual update in the settings.