Today, computer viruses remain one of the most discussed types of threats. Antivirus will prevent cybercriminals from infecting your device with malware that can steal data or block the system.
Why should we use antivirus?
There is an opinion that modern operating systems do not need antivirus. Someone says it only consumes resources and slows down the OS work. Users often believe that if you don’t go to adult sites and click on suspicious links, you can do without additional protection. So, is antivirus necessary?
Of course, modern operating systems have standard security tools. But hackers and virus writers know how to bypass them, so more reliable tools are needed. Sometimes, even experienced professionals cannot distinguish real banks or social media sites from fake ones. Or they open potentially malicious email attachments disguised as letters from colleagues or partners. Therefore, you should focus not on “what not to do” but on “how the computer should be set up to minimize the risk of infection.”
Viruses and malware are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated and dangerous every day, which greatly complicates data protection. If your computer does not have secure protection, you run the risk of being attacked by the latest computer viruses and malware. Cybercriminals are relentless and constantly try to break into computers and phones to steal valuable data – bank details, personal photos, and important documents. Therefore, you need to have a working antivirus on your computer, Mac, Android, or iPhone. The main types of antivirus security threats are different types of malicious code that can harm the company. Malicious code can be presented in the form of computer viruses, programs such as “Trojan Horse”, as well as programs such as “adware”, “spyware”, etc.
Prevention of malware and viruses
To help prevent malware and save your computer, follow these requirements:
- use licensed software;
- install an antivirus monitor program;
- Regularly scan your computer for viruses using one of the antivirus programs;
- constantly update antivirus databases;
- regularly back up the most valuable data;
- before use, check all removable media obtained from third-party sources with an antivirus program;
- do not open files attached to e-mails if they came from an unknown correspondent;
- restrict the circle of users of your computer, acquaint them with the rules of antivirus protection, demand their strict observance.
Antivirus software alternatives
You can find many antivirus programs on the Internet. The main things we advise you to pay attention to:
- Avast antivirus is the best free antivirus. Almost always in testing, he ranks first in the rankings. Not a very powerful scanner, but the main advantage of antivirus is the ability to catch viruses before they enter the computer and block sites with viruses. This antivirus paired with DrWeb Cureit will give you reliable protection.
- Avira antivirus – a pretty good antivirus, has a huge set of features even in the free version (free VPN, phishing protection, etc.) It catches 99% of all known viruses
- ESET NOD32 – the strongest points are the efficient heuristic analyzer and the minimum consumption of system resources, which is especially noted by the owners of not very “fast” computers. The disadvantages of Eset Nod32 include insufficient response to new threats, minimal ability to detect active rootkits, elimination of the consequences of active infection.
- DrWeb – good threat detection, reliable Internet protection, excellent detection of hidden threats. Like Kaspersky, it has a high resource consumption with a full scan, sometimes completely legal sites are blocked. Blue anti-virus screens can occur with this antivirus.