How Does Antivirus Work?
Antivirus is a software application that protects your device against a number of viruses, Trojans and other threats. These programs also help you keep your privacy and identity secure on the Internet.
The antivirus identifies viruses by their signatures and identifiable patterns, as well as by computer behavior or unauthorized alterations to certain files and areas of your system or hard disk. Most antivirus systems have several methods of detecting viruses, including specific detection, generic detection, and heuristic detection.
Specific Detection uses a virus’s signature to identify it and determine whether it is a malicious file or not. The software compares the code in a suspicious file to the known codes in the database and marks it for deletion or quarantines it for further investigation.
Generic Detection is a more accurate way to find viruses, as it uses a virus’s family structure to identify it. This technique can be faster than specific detection, because it doesn’t have to scan a wide range of files for each family member.
Heuristic Detection is another fast-response method used by antivirus programs. It aims to identify the most likely viruses in a large group by examining characteristics common to all the members of that family.
Behavior Blocking is another tactic used by most antivirus programs to identify and remove malware. This tactic analyzes the actions carried out by programs (suspicious actions) in order to identify probable attempts at invasions or infections and may block the program.