The word “virus” is sure to be one of the top 5 most commonly used words of 2020-2021 due to all the annoying Covid-19. But the virus has an effect not only on the human body but also on the computer system, destroying it from within. Of course, various anti-virus programs help to fight this, but the devices themselves are not sold “bare” they come with built-in anti-virus, so is there any point in buying additional anti-virus? In this article, we will try to understand this question.
Do you need an anti-virus and why?
The general answer is yes, you do, you should not leave your device unprotected, except if you are an iPhone user. In the case of other operating systems, you still need antivirus software because viruses mutate, improve and multiply every day. There are completely new malware and hacker attacks, the next system that hackers want to break into may be yours.
In addition, some operating systems are more prone to infection than others, especially the Windows system. According to official data from managed service providers, most of the frauds were targeting Windows.
How antivirus protects your devices
The way an antivirus program works is that it scans daily your operating system, checking it for malicious files and if it detects such a threat it automatically removes it or puts it into special storage for so-called “quarantine”.
Below we have listed the main functions of the antivirus:
- Behavior-based detection – this means that antiviruses remove viruses even before they can penetrate your database
- Scan -programs act on two principles, either scanning on-demand or on access, which you can schedule in advance and at any time
- Quarantine and virus removal – instead of deleting a file, sometimes the program can put it in a place where the virus will not have any access to the files to infect them
- Protect when browsing the web – this feature protects you on the Internet from ransomware websites to avoid leaking your data
Also, third-party antivirus programs have additional but no less important features that guarantee you all methods of security both on your system and on the internet, among them:
- VPN
- Password Manager
- Identity Theft Protection and much more
How to optimize anti-virus software
To get the most out of your purchased antivirus software you should:
- Purchase packages – that way you will have access to the additional anti-virus features described above
- Always update your antivirus software – as soon as you get a new update you need to install it because if it becomes out of date it will be less effective against new viruses
- Do not overdo it – having several antivirus programs in one system is not only useless but also dangerous, because they can cause system crashes
- Scan all software – enable real-time scanning and make sure that the software scans all files downloaded from the internet which usually have the highest concentration of malware files
- Scan all emails – checking incoming and outgoing mail is also very important to keep your system secure
- Regular backups – if you happen to get a virus on your system you should always have a fresh backup of the important files, just in case you need to reinstall the system