Linux Virii

question;
how is linux affected by virii, and how does it combat them?

Not being root is a PITA because I'm installing shit and changing system settings all the time, as well as running some things that require you to be root. Plus there's the anal file permissions which would prevent access to the files I need all the time. Who knows when I want to check some log or configuration file, it'd be anal to have to su to root all the fucking time. Half the commands I enter would have to run as root.