What is antivirus software and how does it work?

You are here: Home > tutorials > Computer basics > What is antivirus software and how does it work? An Antivirus software is a program designed for safeguarding computer systems as well as data against malicious software such as Viruses, Trojan horses, Spyware, Adware, Computer Worms and other potentially unwanted software programs. Usually, Antivirus software detects, alerts you about the presence of malware, prevents and removes the software that seem to be related to the known malware. The basic security software and hardware that prevent malware from invading your computer system and private network are known as Firewalls. Having your firewall on/working will prevent unauthorized access to your personal data and your computer system in general. Having a computer that has no Antivirus software will make it possible for malicious hackers to get control of your computer system as well as full-access to your personal data/information such as files and programs. There are a lot of these software programs; some are free while others you have to purchase them in order to install and run them in your computer system. In order to make your antivirus program powerful and strong enough to fight against security intruders, you suppose to keep it up-to-date by updating it on the regular basis. Every antivirus program differs from others in case of functionality and how to operate it. To make sure it works properly, check the user manual that came with your software or visit the software manufacturer's official website for more help and support. Some antivirus manufacturers such as Microsoft Corporation, have the products forums where users are allowed to report the problems they are experiencing in using a product (such as Microsoft Security Essentials) as well as read and review other users' experience and success stories. Spending your spare time visiting these web portals will make you highly experienced on running an Antivirus program in your PC. Older Antivirus software such as McAfee and Norton are still existing in the battle against malicious conducts, and the new ones are developed and distributed in the constant way. Apart from McAfee and Norton, other Antivirus software programs are Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG antivirus, Avast! Free antivirus, BitDefender Antivirus, Avira Antivirus, Kaspersky Antivirus, Trend Micro Antivirus, Ashampoo Anti-malware, Coranti Antivirus, Net Protector Antivirus etc, a list goes on. Related Articles Computer Security-Virus, Worm and Trojan horse The top 5 Anti-malware Software What is a hacker? How to protect your PCs against malware You may also like this: How to install a program in computers running windows How to uninstall a program from the PC running windows OS How to install windows XP

Internet basics tutorials! Learn the Internet basics on our free Internet tutorials. Learn how to surf the web and a variety of other related matters we offer on this blog. Get started now! Advertisement! Blogging tips and tutorials! Learn what the blog is, its importance, how to create it and other related topics in our free blogging tutorials! The latest posts! What is windows 7? What is an operating system and how does it work in a computer system? How to download and install Microsoft Security Essentials Antivirus software What is antivirus software and how does it work? Easy techniques for deleting your browsing history in internet Explorer Importance of starting and having a blog site Starting a blog on blogspot/blogger for free Visit our tutorials home page for more tutorials