Did you know that every day 350,000 new malware are discovered? These malicious programs can infect anyone’s device without their consent. In most instances, the victim gets to know the reality after they’ve experienced a data breach. The research revealed that 60% of SMBs become aware of a data breach after six months. This increases the need to use antivirus software.
But what is antivirus software, and how it helps organizations and individuals? To aid our readers in this, we’ve compiled this article. The piece shed light on various aspects of antivirus software. So, let’s dive into it.
What is Antivirus Software?
In this age of changing security landscape, it has become imperative to protect your online presence. Every other day, the internet is hit by the news of hackers exploiting any business organization and causing great damage. The damage is significant and causes both financial and reputational loss. Maintaining your online security has become the need of the hour.
Cybercriminals have become immensely more advanced than before. They use the latest tools and techniques to trick users and steal their valuable data. There are several ways by which a malicious person targets the victim. Some of these tactics include:
- Phishing
- Ransomware
- Malware attack
- DDoS attack
- Viruses, Trojan-Horse, and Worms
Besides this, they also take the form of malicious software that aims to steal your valuable data. No matter what tactic hackers use, their main goal is to breach your privacy and have sensitive data. It includes your business, personal, banking, health, or other financial data. The best possible solution to avoid this is to use antivirus software.
Thinking about what antivirus software is? Well! Like any other program, antivirus is a helpful software program. It protects the device and sensitive data from malicious agents’ reach. It blocks out any malicious software or the tactic used by the hacker to enter your system.
The Function of Antivirus Software
Antivirus software safeguards your computer against malware invasion and other cyber-attacks. When activated, the software scrutinizes the data. It includes the web pages you visit, files downloaded, apps, and other software that comes over your device. It first searches for the potential threats available on your device. They do so by monitoring any anomalous behaviour. As soon as they detect any abnormality, they either remove it or even block it ensuring your online security. Using antivirus software is vital to fight against emerging cyber-risks and threats.
What if you don’t have antivirus software installed on your device? Your device and all essential data in it are vulnerable to attackers. You might pose a significant risk of getting attacked by a virus or Trojan Horse, and you won’t even know about it. The malicious agents would cause havoc on your device without your consent. Thus, staying updated and using reliable antivirus software for your device is better.
How Does Antivirus Software Work?
Antivirus software works by scanning all the incoming files into your system. The software scans through every program, file, and app that flows in and out of your device. The software during its manufacturing phase has an extensive database. It includes all the known viruses, malware, and other cyber-attacks that hackers can use to harm your device. The developers teach the software to identify, flag, and fix vulnerabilities.
Improved from the past
Now, antivirus software has improved from the past. It gathers all the relevant information and compares it with the database to find possible matches. If the software detects similar games, they scan them for vulnerabilities and remove them. The software allows the users to alter the settings for automatic scans to see malicious apps, files, and programs.
Also, you can run a manual scan and even set a schedule to run the antivirus scan. It happens when you are doing an important task and don’t want to get interrupted. You can permit the software to remove the vulnerabilities without your permission.
How Does An Antivirus Help Us?
Antivirus software is an essential component of maintaining the security of your computer. It safeguards the device from cyber-attacks and other forms of data breaches. In general, antivirus software protects us from all significant emerging cyber threats. These include malware, ransomware, Trojan Horses, and adware. The software, on behalf of the system, performs the following tasks:
- Preparing for automatic scans
- Identifying files and programs for the presence of malicious software.
- Scanning files or the entire system.
- Removing malicious files, apps, codes, and programs.
Besides this, antivirus software also helps users by performing the following functions.
Program Scanning and Script Blocking
Antivirus adopts the strategy of reactive scanning to protect your device. When you have antivirus software downloaded into your system, it scans every new file and program before it’s opened. The software handles checking the database, which has the data about the known malware and viruses. Once antivirus software gives the clean chit, the app, file, or program will open up.
Moreover, antivirus also runs a complete scan on your device and protects you. When it runs a full scan, it monitors every part of your system for malware signs. As these scans run in the background, they consume much of the system’s memory. Ensure your device has enough memory to handle the load by the antivirus software. It is a time taking process but maintaining your device security is the top priority of the software.
Automatic Updates
Excellent and reliable antivirus software provides automatic updates. Also, it ensures that the databases are getting updated with the latest emerging vulnerabilities.
Removing Malware
Another crucial area where antivirus software is handy is to remove malware from your device. The antivirus software has built-in malware detection capability; it does not detect it but also deletes it.
Protects from Unwanted and Malicious Ads
Hackers are always looking for new ways to invade your system. Sometimes they adopt techniques like phishing, while other times, they look for the backdoor loophole. One such loophole is ads you see on the internet. The hackers are present on your network and track your activities. They even record your likes, dislikes, and other preferences. When they get enough information about you, they attach your IP address.
They sell it to third parties or on the dark web to exchange money. Once your data gets leaked, you are often bombarded with unwanted and malicious ads. Such ads pop up on your screen and encourage you to click on them. If the ad is about a product or service, you’ll be taken to their website. But, if it is a malicious ad, you might get redirected to some bogus site.
The hacker would ask to provide your financial and banking details. Reliable AV software blocks all such ads and ensures a safe browsing experience for the user.
Enhances Web Protection By Limiting the Access to Unauthorized Websites
Sometimes while browsing the internet, you often access some unauthorized websites. These sites can expose your system to cyber threats like spyware, malware, and viruses. Once these threats get a pathway to your device, they cause significant risks to your data and files. Even an extreme situation can lead to a system crash. AV software limits your access to any such authorized websites and networks. They ensure that you access safe and authorized websites by all possible means. It is a reason that you receive an error message when you visit some sites, which can prove harmful to your device.
Protection Against Removable Devices
Another area where AV software helps us is when we use any removable devices on our system. These devices are most of the time vulnerable and serve as a transmission device for any virus. What usually happens is that after using a USB, your computer system starts working slower than expected. It can also damage your critical data files, which you can’t recover later. Here again, AV software comes into play. It scans the removable devices for viruses, so it isn’t transmitted in any way.
Common Types of Antivirus Software
There are several different types of AV software available in the market. Each has an individual purpose with a prime aim to protect your device and sensitive data. Below are the three common types of antivirus software; let’s discuss them.
Standalone Antivirus Software
It is a security solution to remove some specific viruses from the system. It gets installed on a USB drive and used by the administrator to run scans after removing the USB device.
Security Software Suites
It is more than antivirus software and is worth using as it detects and removes viruses from the system. It also fights against all types of malicious software that enters your system.
Cloud-Based Antivirus Software
It is typically designed to work in a cloud environment. It is a developing technology that will get more robust in the upcoming time. The cloud-based AV software examines all the files in the cloud. Later, it runs scans for potential viruses and malware. The best thing about this AV software is that it doesn’t consume much of the system’s memory.
Free Vs. Premium Antivirus Software: Which One Works the Best?
You can find both premium and free AV software in the market. When the name free comes, most users decide to use it without thinking for a second. Do they believe that why should they invest in something when they are getting it for free? But, they forget that they can’t avail of any service without paying for it. Though the free AV software doesn’t charge a single penny from the user, they aren’t reliable to use. These free services make money by bombarding users with irrelevant ads and installing junkware on their systems.
Moreover, the free software often hides malware within them. It means they are not doing anything to boost your security but risking it. Using free AV software can quickly become a victim of identity theft too. Also, it lacks advanced protection boosting features essential for maintaining device security.
In contrast to free AV software, the premium ones are worth investing in. They are secure and have a wide range of security-enhancing features. Thus, it’s recommended to save some bucks and invest in the best AV software. Remember, nothing is more expensive than your security.
Low price is tempting, so is the performance
- Works with BBC iPlayer & Disney+
- No data logs or leaks
- Good free service
- Affordable prices
- Servers optimized for P2P activity
Available on :
Final Thoughts
To conclude, all we can say is if you are already using antivirus software, then you are on the safe side. But if not, then you should start using it right now. With the emerging cyber threats, it has become imperative to use antivirus protection tools. The AV software protects you if you are under any crack or vulnerability. Hackers and other malicious agents are adopting new methods to breach user privacy. But, they won’t succeed in their deeds without a comprehensive security solution like AV software.