What Is Antivirus Software?
How Can It Help You
Protect Yourself?
Antivirus software
is a program or set of programs that are designed to prevent, search for,
detect, and remove software viruses, and other malicious software like worms,
trojans, adware, and more.
Why Do I Need Antivirus Software?
These antivirus
tools are critical for users to have installed and up-to-date because a
computer without antivirus
software protection will be infected within minutes of
connecting to the internet. The bombardment is constant, which means antivirus
companies have to update their detection tools regularly to deal with the more than
60,000 new pieces of malware created daily.
Today's malware (an
umbrella term that encompasses computer viruses) changes appearance quickly to
avoid detection by older, definition-based antivirus software. Viruses can be
programmed to cause damage to your device, prevent a user from accessing data,
or to take control of your computer.
What Does AntiVirus Software Do?
Several different
companies build antivirus software and what each offer can vary but all perform
some essential functions:
·
Scan specific files or directories
for any malware or known malicious patterns
·
Allow you to schedule scans to
automatically run for you
·
Allow you to initiate a scan of a
particular file or your entire computer, or of a CD or flash drive at any time.
·
Remove any malicious code detected
–sometimes you will be notified of an infection and asked if you want to clean
the file, other programs will automatically do this behind the scenes.
·
Show you the ‘health’ of your
computer
Always be sure you
have the best, up-to-date security
software installed to protect your computers, laptops, tablets,
and smartphones.
What Are the Benefits of Antivirus
Software?
Antivirus solutions
protect more than just laptops, office computers, smartphones and tablets. They
protect precious memories, music and photo libraries, and important documents
from destruction by malware. Make sure your protection is up to the challenge
of defending against the latest threats.
Modern antivirus
solutions are capable of:
·
Detecting, blocking, and removing
viruses, malware, and ransomware
·
Preventing identity theft and block
phishing and fraud
·
Warning about dangerous websites and
links before you click
·
Scanning the Dark Web to find if an
email address has been compromised
·
Keeping online accounts protected
with secure password encryption
·
Providing simple training to teach
you and your family how to be even safer online
·
Tuning up your computer to keep it
running smoothly, just like new
How Does Antivirus Software Work?
Many antivirus
software programs still download malware definitions straight to your device
and scan your files in search of matches. But since, as we mentioned, most
malware regularly morphs in appearance to avoid detection, Webroot works
differently. Instead of storing examples of recognized malware on your device,
it stores malware definitions in the cloud.
This allows us to take up less space, scan faster, and maintain a more robust
threat library.
Free vs Paid Antivirus Software
From banking to
baby photos, so much of our business and personal data live on our devices. If
it were stored physically, paying for a security solution would be a
no-brainer. Unfortunately, we often expect our online data to remain secure
without lifting a finger or spending a cent. Companies claiming to do it for
free are partly responsible for the confusion, to be sure. But consumers should
insist on features like identity theft protection, mobile security, and support
options when it comes to their data security, too—features usually lacking with
free solutions.
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