BotNet News

Antivirus is a type of software that prevents malware (malicious code) from harming computers and laptops, as well as the data stored on them. It scans files, folders and external devices like hard drives for malware, then destroys or quarantines threats to keep them from spreading and impacting more systems.

Traditional antivirus protection relies on malware signatures to identify threats. A virus signature is a continuous sequence of code that’s typical and peculiar to a specific piece of malware, and it serves as the digital fingerprint of a threat. Security vendors analyze a file and extract the malware signature, then add it to their virus definitions database so other computers can be protected against that threat.

More advanced forms of malware stay one step ahead of traditional antivirus protection by encrypting or otherwise changing their code so they don’t match virus definitions. To combat this, some security vendors have created sandboxing technologies that run suspect files in a controlled environment so they can see how the malware behaves and whether it’s harmful.

Antivirus is a vital part of any cybersecurity strategy. But it doesn’t stop all types of cyberattacks, such as credential theft or living-off-the-land attacks that require a broader suite of security tools. For example, a firewall controls network traffic to detect suspicious behavior and block access to malicious websites. FortiEDR uses machine learning to go beyond traditional antivirus to detect sophisticated cyber threats in real time and stop breaches before they happen.