Antivirus software, What is anti virus software?

Antivirus software, what is anti virus software?

First the explanation, what does antivirus do?

Anti-virus software programs help prevent, search for, detect and remove software viruses and malicious software like Malware, Trojans, Adware, and more.

Antivirus software - do you need an anti virus program?

You won’t know how painful it is until you experience a virus infected computer of your own - you will wish that you had taken preventative measures. It’s an urban myth that Apple users are exempted from this owing to Apple's incredible technology. Apple products are just as vulnerable.

Always be sure you have the best, up-to-date internet antivirus security software installed to protect your computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

The bombardment is constant, with anti-virus companies updating their detection tools constantly to deal with the more than 60,000 threats of malware created daily. For some years it was described as being similar to jumping in the deep end of a pool without being able to swim.

Take good care of your online self

Always make sure your web browser is updated to the latest version, use a firewall. Download programs from reliable websites you trust and always surf the web using a standard user account, rather than your administrator one.

Antivirus (or anti-virus) software is used to safeguard a computer from malware, including viruses, computer worms, and Trojan horses. Additionally, antivirus software may also remove or prevent spyware and adware, along with other forms of malicious programs.

Free or Paid AntiVirus Software.

Free antivirus software usually searches your computer using signature-base to detect patterns of data that are known to be related to already-identified malware. Furthermore, some antivirus companies even sell your data to make a living which clearly doesn’t make sense.

Paid antivirus software usually include heuristics to catch new, or zero-day threats, by either using genetic signatures to identify new variants of existing virus code or by running the file in a virtual environment (also called a sandbox), and watching what it does to see if it has malicious intent.

Germany’s AV Test recently conducted a 5 year performance analysis and found the Bitfender internet security, F Secure SAFE and Kaspersky to be most reliable from 30 brands tested. Special commendation was made to F Secure SAFE among these three.

Additionally, the AV Test recommends that despite the cost internet users must use paid for anti virus software.

Virus designers, however, usually test their malicious code against the major antivirus types of malware, specifically ransomware, use polymorphic code to make it difficult to be detected by antivirus software.

BeSecureOnline are stockists of both Bitdefender and F Secure SAFE. License renewal is also available through BeSecureOnline.

Tips for Internet Safety and Cybersecurity

Besides using antivirus software to keep your computer safe and running smoothly, it is also always a good idea to be proactive:

  • Make sure your web browser is updated to the latest version,
  • Use a firewall,
  • Only download programs from websites you trust and always surf the web using a standard user account, rather than your administrator one.
  • Scan specific files or directories for any malware or known malicious pattern. This is usually ease to find.
  • Set your to schedule scans to automatically run for you.
  • 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.
  • Regularly check the ‘health’ of your computer.

BeSecureOnline - Internet Saefty and Cyber Security Ireland and United Kingdom

Knowledge is power and when it comes to Internet Safety and Cyber Security - being aware of the possible threats facing you online can help you to help prevent any encouters.

Our internet safety talks are available for schools and businesses. We speak directly to the different issues facing children and employees. Furthermore, we speak about productivity issues and how excessive screen time is negatively effecting mental and emotional wellbeing in both children and adults. We create a fun and enaging experience, sharing information in a way that it is easily understood and retained.

To book a safety talk for your school or business, please contact us.

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