An antivirus program (AV) is a piece of software designed to
secure your desktop computer, notebook, netbook, Mac or mobile
device from malicious software (more commonly called”malware”).
Malware — more on that later — is the title given to some piece
of code designed to interrupt your system in some manner, be in the
event for the purposes of causing you grief, stealing your money,
or another sort of mischievous or criminal behavior.
Antivirus software is designed to thwart that threat, typically
via signature-based detection procedures. Virus signatures are
based on unique portions of code found inside the malware and are
typically check-summed/hashed and dispersed in the kind of regular
antivirus signature updates. To put it differently, researchers in
the antivirus businesses delve into a new computer virus or other
pieces of malicious applications, examine it and then inform their
security applications what to watch out for in order to discover
it.
Considering that the antivirus industry was created in the
1980s, the technology has come on leaps and bounds, primarily in
reaction to the increasing number of threats.
When the internet was in its infancy, the number of viruses and
other forms of malware were minuscule compared to now. Because of
this, AV vendors could keep their clients safe simply by sending
out updates monthly on floppy disks. Nowadays, the amount of
threats is huge and malware appears every second of the day.
Infrequent updates are no longer enough and hence the security
programs of now offer near-continuous upgrades, often delivered
through the cloud.
Additionally, the manner in which viruses have been detected has
changed. Simply matching signatures isn’t sufficient to manage the
evolving threat — contemporary antivirus programs now tend to
integrate additional tools like behavioral-based detection and
intrusion prevention technology.
Is it safe to use a computer or other device without having
antivirus or other security program installed?
Yes!
It is the answer I want to give to this question but the reality
is that, for the huge majority of people, it actually isn’t a great
idea to use an interconnected device without some type of security
protection installed.
Sure, you’ve read or heard from security specialists who never
install antivirus and never pick up any malware in their devices,
but are you an expert?
If not, you’re going to be taking a massive risk with your
information if you do not protect it.
And if you are not using Windows, that does not make you immune
— just because Microsoft’s operating system was the most
concentrated, it does not mean other operating systems are
completely overlooked. Malware on the Mac, for example, really is
something and it’s becoming increasingly prevalent.
So, whatever system you’re using, antivirus can help by
radically reducing the odds of your system being infected with a
virus, Trojan or other malicious code.
That is not to say that any antivirus program will provide you
100% protection against all present and future dangers — it won’t —
since some malware is specially designed to circumvent security
applications and/or make itself challenging to detect.
You can improve your chances of preventing viruses and other
dangers though. Here are some quick tips:
- Pick an antivirus program that is highly regarded by
independent testing labs like AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives. - Make certain your antivirus program updates regularly — at
least once daily is advised. The same goes for your operating
system — if security upgrades are available, install them
immediately - Run complete scans on a regular basis. Most antivirus programs
will assess recently installed apps but a complete scan can help
detect anything that may have sneaked past your defenses - Pay attention to your computer — if it starts behaving
strangely, functioning slowly, or you begin seeing a lot of web
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a scan straight away
Can a free antivirus program offer adequate protection?
There is an old adage that says you get what you pay for and in
the event of antivirus software that is kind of true.
That is not to say free antivirus applications ought to be
dismissed out of hand, however — some are really very good and
might well be adequate for some people.
Concerning independent testing, AV-Test. Org results over a time
period show that free antivirus programs do, overall, score lower
than the paid-for alternatives in the market and our own experience
has taught us that free programs also tend to suffer from a lack of
additional attributes, less than stellar support, an obsession with
up-selling, or a combination of all three.
Whether or not some of these issues are a deal-breaker for you
will probably depend upon what you use your computer for, how you
value your data and your personal financial situation.
In any event, installing any antivirus program is preferable to
having none at all, though you really do need to be watching out
for free imitation antivirus programs which are better than the
viruses that they want to prevent in the first location.
What is the best antivirus to use?
I’m afraid I can’t just name a single product and let you go get
it — antivirus is a personal choice and the best for you is very
likely to be the one which provides the features you want and works
nicely on your system when coming in at a price point that is
suitable for your budget.
Having said that, you’ll most likely need to stick to software
given by the biggest, most well-known, firms in the market, such as
BitDefender, ESET, F-Secure, Kaspersky, McAfee, Symantec and Trend
Micro, to mention but a few.
Something we can’t stress strongly enough is to do your research
before purchasing or downloading an antivirus program.
They aren’t created equal and odds are you will use the
identical program for at least a year so it is important to make an
informed decision.
To begin, you’ll have to narrow down your search to antivirus
programs that are compatible with your operating system. If you’re
using Windows that will leave you with a far bigger pool that if
you’re using a Mac or Linux so you’ll have to add in more
standards.
Are you, by way of instance, a heavy gamer that will want to
have an antivirus application that’s either light on resources or
that has the capacity to suspend scans during gaming time? Are you
an occasional surfer who never logs to sensitive websites or stores
personal data in their own machine, thus creating a free antivirus
program an attractive proposition?
When you have assessed your needs and paired programs for your
operating system then you’ll have to narrow things further by
assessing independent laboratory results, focusing mostly on
detection and elimination scores.
Once you have identified your top two or three choices it is
time to read detailed reviews that give an honest assessment of
each program’s pros and cons, along with the comments left by other
owners of the same software
Only then can you make an educated decision on which antivirus
program will be ideal for you’re unique circumstance.