How Does Antivirus Work When Dual Booting with Linux and Windows?

The antivirus on Windows won't have any effect on your Linux partition since Windows can't read Linux files directly. Also, you’re right that while malware does exist for Linux, it's a lot less common. Just follow safe practices, and you should be fine without a dedicated antivirus. If you're sharing data between the two OSs, your Windows antivirus will still scan shared files, so keep that in mind.

If you're just using Windows for specific tasks and keeping your main work on Linux, that’s a solid setup. Remember that there are plenty of apps that run on Wine for Linux, but if you have a lot of Windows-specific software, keeping a separate Windows machine can help. Also, good on you for creating a dual boot! It's a great way to have the best of both worlds.

Your Windows antivirus is only going to work on the Windows side. Linux systems won’t recognize it at all. The good news is that Linux is generally less prone to viruses, especially if you stick to downloading software from trusted sources. Still, if you want some antivirus capabilities on Linux, consider using ClamAV, which is designed specifically for it.