A tool that checks Windows systems for malware from a Linux perspective? Yes, such utilities exist.
A tool that checks Windows systems for malware from a Linux perspective? Yes, such utilities exist.
Yes, clamav will do the trick and is probably what the OP needs. I'm not aware of any alternatives (probably because clamav does it's job good enough, is free and open source - and in such a case, it makes little sense to divide development efforts into separate projects). About viruses in general: There have been little viruses for Linux. The most probable reason is that Linux (or OS X) is a less popular OS. It makes sense for virus writers to target popular OSes of the time (such as DOS and Windows). Also, Linux is/has been protected by more computer-literate users, who are less likely to fall into "stupid mistakes", say dialog boxes on web sites etc.; and are more likely to be able to spot viruses and be prepared for them. Also, Linux as an OS (at least pre-Windows XP) was much better protected against virus infections (although, it can not be stressed enough: it was never immune. The protection comes only from more clearer the separation of Kernel | user-space | permission system of the OS FS). But: the protection from rarity and more-computer-literate user space might diminish, as a OS becomes more popular (and possibly the average user is not that computer literate as before). Usually (at least historically) Viruses have not (usually!) migrated from an OS to another. But this is not a "safe" assumption; it has been like this only because it has been convenient from the viruses point of view (or their developers). It is certainly possible to write a OS-agnostic virus (even across architectures, I'd assume it is more easier though if the CPU architecture is the same - which used to protect OS X users). There more and more common factors between OSes, such as web browsers, and common scripted languages (Javascript and the like) which might run OS-agnostic viruses. Also there are file formats, which are borderline (or actual) programming languages in their own right, and could (at least in theory) contain a virus. One good example is MS Word macro viruses, and these are OS agnostic at least to a certain degree. Also, it is possible a Windows virus will run in Wine (in OS X or a Linux desktop environment). It will still see a Windows machine, but it doesn't mean it can not corrupt the users files (depends on how Wine is/was configured, but 99% of the time it has full R/W support to the users home dir who is running Wine). There's one important point, though: just because a Virus could not run on your OS, doesn't mean it is desirable to share viruses from files you got elsewhere for your peers (who might run another OS). That's why it is a bit naïve to claim there are no scanners targeting viruses made for another OS than on which they are running. There is a clear need, and there have (pratically) always been virus scanners for "other" OSes, especially on non-Desktop-only oriented OSes (clamav runs on many OSes, btw).
Linux offers multiple AV solutions to check Windows partitions for threats. ClamAV is available on Windows and MacOS, along with Sophos Antivirus for Linux which identifies, blocks, and eliminates malware across Windows, Mac, and Android platforms. It supports web servers, NFS, FTP, or desktop Linux environments. Compatible systems include Amazon Linux, CentOS, Debian, Mint, Oracle, Red Hat, SUSE, TurboLinux, and Ubuntu. Tools like ckrootki, rkhunter, Lynis, ISPProtect, Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Avast Security Suite, ESET File Security, FreeBSD Bitdefender, and others provide endpoint protection tailored for Linux.