Larry N. said:
Actually, Tom, Linux (or Unix), when properly configured, is nearly immune to the kinds of problems that seem to be routine with Windows. This is largely (as Mopar indicates) due to permissions and to the user strategy employed (not normally super user). Java, Javascript and other such, especially when things are not properly configured, can somewhat increase the vulnerability of the various Unices, as can poor security practices and sloppy system configuration (software wise).
Unfortunately, many corporate practices (in the name of saving money, of course) don't expend the resources to do the job right, so some malware gets in, often through "social engineering," that is, talking someone out of access and/or passwords, and not setting passwords to drop a connection after three tries, or so. Some individuals running Linux also don't configure things securely.
There are a very few people in the world (certainly not the usual script kiddies) who, given access in some form, can break into a securely configured system (which is why I said nearly immune above), but those folks are rare.
You might note that your Chromebook is, at the server end (the so-called "cloud"), likely running Linux too, so if Google gets compromised in those servers your Chromebook is just as vulnerable as a Linux machine, but there's nothing you can do about it, once you've connected to a compromised server.
