BotNet News

Antivirus is an umbrella term for programs whose sole purpose is to scan for, detect, quarantine and eradicate malicious software and viruses (malware). It’s just one component of your overall computer and online protection strategy that also includes things like password managers, two-factor authentication, data encryption, systemwide backups, a VPN, smart privacy tools and more.

Viruses, Trojan horses, worms and other malware are programs designed by cybercriminals with the intention of doing harm to your systems and devices. They function with the goal of looting your bank accounts, stealing your identity, destroying your files and more. These cyberattacks are the reason why antivirus is still such a necessity today.

Modern antivirus programs protect against these attacks by using sophisticated technologies that can identify threats based on their behaviors and not just their file signatures. For example, some programs use sandboxing to test suspicious files in a separate virtual environment and spot unusual behavior like attempting to access a large number of files or trying to hide itself.

In addition, a lot of modern programs rely on cloud analysis to stay ahead of new malware attacks. This allows them to sift through a large pool of data, quickly identify new threat vectors and send that information back to the programs that are running on your systems so they can take corrective action.