Antivirus software works by comparing files on your computer against a vast database of known viruses, malware, ransomware and spyware. This is done most often times in ‘real time’ as you browse or by a scheduled scan of your computer and or device.
First and foremost, if you are using devices that all use different platforms, such as a MAC computer and an Android cell phone, you will want to make sure that you find an antivirus software that is able to protect all of your various devices.
You want to choose an antivirus that is well known and one that offers customizable security options, to meet your needs.
In addition, it is very important that you choose an antivirus suite that will stop ‘real time’ threats. This will ensure that you are always safe while browsing. Real time threat detection will make it so you are always on a secure web page while browsing, which is extremely important while surfing the internet.
Antivirus Software Can Stop More Than Just Viruses
Antivirus software will look for and stop an array of various threats. Some of the most common threats are as follows:
Antivirus software will stop Viruses. Viruses work by attaching themselves to files on your device. Once these viruses are attached and installed on your device, they can cause harm by slowing your device down, corrupting files and sharing important person information.
Much like a virus, ‘worms, have been around for a long time and they are typically designed to disrupt your devices functions. Often times, slowing down resources and overloading your device. Most antivirus programs will have a large database of common worms that they are able to scan your device against.
Antivirus software will also scan your device for what is known as a ‘keylogger’. A keylogger is a piece of code or tiny piece of software that is installed to a device for one purpose – to record everything that is typed into that device. For example: If you are logging into a website, such as Facebook – a keylogger is able to record your username and password as you type it in. Then that information is able to be seen by whoever installed the keylogger maliciously.
Ransomeware is another serious threat that antivirus programs will search for. Ransomware can be installed on a device and then encrypt that device or files. Once that happens, a threat is typically made that one has to pay money to an unknown source in order for them to release the encrypted files or device.
Another annoying, yet serious threat that antivirus software will look for, is software that changes the way your web browser behaves. Referred to as ‘browser highjacking’, this can cause your browser to constantly navigate to an unsafe website or websites.
Browser Highjacking definition: a form of unwanted software that modifies a web browser’s settings without a user’s permission, to inject unwanted advertising into the user’s browser. A browser hijacker may replace the existing home page, error page, or search engine with its own.[1] These are generally used to force hits to a particular website, increasing its advertising revenue.
A good antivirus software will have a vast and very up to date database of all threats that are circulating on the web. While your antivirus is active and running on your device, it is constantly looking for these threats. If a threat should arise, it will compare that file or piece of code to their database and alert you. In addition to alerting you, the antivirus software will stop the threat immediately. If a threat should happen to get by that protection, a daily automatic scan should find and remove it.