Purchasing a desktop, laptop or a tablet PC often involves more than just deciding what hardware to choose. Since both hardware and software are almost equally responsible for device performance, consumers need to be well informed about options on hand. Fortunately, most computing devices are pre-packaged with all the basic software in use today. This includes a document reader/ editor, image viewer/editor, audio/video player, internet browser and antivirus software, to name a few. Of all these, the antivirus is of utmost importance for obvious reasons. In this post, we will attempt to understand how an antivirus works to protect your PC. Antivirus support service is available for resolving any outstanding antivirus-related issues with your computer.
An antivirus is a piece of software that prevents, detects and removes malware from a computer. Malware is a generic term encompassing viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, ransomware and the like. Basically, any software with malicious intent toward your PC could be termed malware. Simple as that!
In order to work effectively, an antivirus has to differentiate between malware and legitimate software. One technique is to compare program code with that recorded in an existing database of known malware. This is called signature-based detection as it involves comparing program ‘signatures’- segments of code within the program. Current signature databases are pretty exhaustive, thus, a good antivirus program will be able to protect your PC from all documented malware.
However, new virus definitions are released every day, necessitating frequent updates to signature databases. Termed as zero-day threats, these viruses attack a segment of users, who can choose to report these attacks anonymously to the antivirus provider. Through reverse engineering, antivirus developers trace the attack back to the virus code and then update signature database accordingly. For continued PC protection, you must ensure your antivirus software downloads these updates as they become available. If automatic updating is enabled, you are fine. If not, you need to prompt the antivirus program manually to update itself. Manual updating is a wise choice if you want to be in control of when the antivirus consumes maximum internet bandwidth.
There are other heuristic approaches to counter zero-day threats. Some antivirus programs are able to identify new viruses by comparing their code with variations of existing virus definitions. Some of them run suspicious programs in a ‘sandbox’, isolated from the computer OS, to observe their activity. Termed sandboxing, this approach identifies potentially dangerous programs before the latter can cause any harm. Today’s antivirus programs are equipped with these latest techniques.
Virus Scan and Removal is an integral part of any antivirus’ protection scheme. These scans can be auto-scheduled to execute in fixed intervals of time, say, once a week, or, can be manually initiated by the user. He/she can also choose to perform a complete or partial scan of the main drives. A disadvantage of auto-scans is they eat into battery runtime of laptops, netbooks, or smartphones when a charging supply is unavailable and slow down system speed for as long as the scan is on. Also important is how the antivirus responds to a potential threat. It is advisable to set the antivirus to prompt for user action, especially due to the possibility of the program throwing up false positives. For any help with settings and antivirus configuration, you can get in touch with a reputed Antivirus support service.
The safety of your computer is as much your responsibility as it is of the antivirus software. Always exercise caution when opening e-mails from unknown senders, visiting unknown websites, entering critical personal information on unknown Web Pages and downloading attachments. In spite of these measures, if you suspect a virus attack on your PC, contact remote virus removal service immediately.
An antivirus is a piece of software that prevents, detects and removes malware from a computer. Malware is a generic term encompassing viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, ransomware and the like. Basically, any software with malicious intent toward your PC could be termed malware. Simple as that!
In order to work effectively, an antivirus has to differentiate between malware and legitimate software. One technique is to compare program code with that recorded in an existing database of known malware. This is called signature-based detection as it involves comparing program ‘signatures’- segments of code within the program. Current signature databases are pretty exhaustive, thus, a good antivirus program will be able to protect your PC from all documented malware.
However, new virus definitions are released every day, necessitating frequent updates to signature databases. Termed as zero-day threats, these viruses attack a segment of users, who can choose to report these attacks anonymously to the antivirus provider. Through reverse engineering, antivirus developers trace the attack back to the virus code and then update signature database accordingly. For continued PC protection, you must ensure your antivirus software downloads these updates as they become available. If automatic updating is enabled, you are fine. If not, you need to prompt the antivirus program manually to update itself. Manual updating is a wise choice if you want to be in control of when the antivirus consumes maximum internet bandwidth.
There are other heuristic approaches to counter zero-day threats. Some antivirus programs are able to identify new viruses by comparing their code with variations of existing virus definitions. Some of them run suspicious programs in a ‘sandbox’, isolated from the computer OS, to observe their activity. Termed sandboxing, this approach identifies potentially dangerous programs before the latter can cause any harm. Today’s antivirus programs are equipped with these latest techniques.
Virus Scan and Removal is an integral part of any antivirus’ protection scheme. These scans can be auto-scheduled to execute in fixed intervals of time, say, once a week, or, can be manually initiated by the user. He/she can also choose to perform a complete or partial scan of the main drives. A disadvantage of auto-scans is they eat into battery runtime of laptops, netbooks, or smartphones when a charging supply is unavailable and slow down system speed for as long as the scan is on. Also important is how the antivirus responds to a potential threat. It is advisable to set the antivirus to prompt for user action, especially due to the possibility of the program throwing up false positives. For any help with settings and antivirus configuration, you can get in touch with a reputed Antivirus support service.
The safety of your computer is as much your responsibility as it is of the antivirus software. Always exercise caution when opening e-mails from unknown senders, visiting unknown websites, entering critical personal information on unknown Web Pages and downloading attachments. In spite of these measures, if you suspect a virus attack on your PC, contact remote virus removal service immediately.
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