What Is Antivirus and How Does It Protect Your Business?
Antivirus is a software application that detects and removes viruses and other kinds of malware from your computers and laptops, as well as mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. Malware is any kind of software program designed to damage or steal data from your device or your network. Malware can be transmitted through attachments in suspicious emails, USB drives, and even just by visiting a bad website. Antivirus programs use sophisticated methods to find, predict, isolate, and remove malware, and they’re a vital part of every cybersecurity strategy.
Unlike viruses, which are typically small and can be transferred from one computer to another by simply touching it, most malware attacks come in the form of large files that are installed on your device or network. Once downloaded, the malware can perform a variety of functions — including looting your bank account, stealing your identity, damaging your server or more.
Some antivirus software can prevent threats from even downloading onto your computer by blocking them before they reach your operating system. This function is called heuristics and works alongside on-access scanning to look for any suspicious activities that could indicate an attack. For example, if an unknown file attempts to install code into other system files, rewrite or copy them, heuristics will flag it as malicious and stop it from running.
Other antivirus programs can also back up your files to the cloud so you can recover them if they’re ever infected by a malware attack. If you’re looking for an antivirus solution, check to see if it offers these features and how well it protects your business against the most common cyberthreats.