What Is Antivirus and How Does It Work?
Antivirus is software that protects computer, tablet, and smartphone devices against malware threats. Originally, antivirus programs were designed to detect and remove computer viruses, but they now employ multiple advanced technologies to combat hard-to-detect and fast-evolving threats like ransomware, spyware, and cryptominers.
The first virus-removal program was created in 1976 by a programmer who called it Creeper, though the self-replicating viral factor wasn’t part of his original design. By the 1980’s, when viruses began infecting the general public, several antivirus companies had launched: Tjark Auerbach (who founded Avira) in Germany; Pavel Baudis and Eduard Kucera (who founded Avast); Frans Veldman (who started TBAV) in Belgium; and Ahn Cheol-Soo in South Korea (who later founded AhnLab).
Each antivirus company develops its own list of known malicious file signatures to scan for. Once a known threat is found, the program immediately flags it and stops it from running, preventing damage or infection. It then thoroughly deletes the detected files. The software is designed to update its virus definitions regularly so that it can identify the latest malware threats and prevent them from running on your device.
In addition to scanning for viruses and other malicious threats, some antivirus software includes features such as a firewall, spam filtering, and sandboxing (which allows unknown programs to run, but limits their access so they can’t cause permanent harm). These added layers of protection further enhance your cybersecurity, keeping you safe from malware, theft, and ransomware, among other things.