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Before I talk about antivirus software I need to mention why it exists : computer viruses.
A computer virus is similar in many ways to a human virus in so much that it spreads infection from one point of contact to another. With a computer this means that it multiplies through infecting additional machines. A computer virus can spread through many means, the most common of which are infected emails, USB and flash drives, exploited web sites and other forms of removable media.
Computer viruses are not only viruses though – the term ‘virus’ has come to mean many other distinct forms of threat that should otherwise be known collectively as malware and singularly as viruses, Trojans, adware, spyware, rootkits and keyloggers, to name just a few.
What is antivirus software then?
An antivirus program is a piece of software designed to protect your computer from the type of threats I mentioned above.
It can either be a standalone program, such as KAV, or part of a bigger internet security suite, such as KIS.
An antivirus program typically uses one, two or three of the following methods to analyse your computer’s memory, hard drive and external drives to determine whether any code found in those locations poses a threat -
1. Virus signature definitions
Virus signatures are used to compare code discovered on your system against a database of known threats. This provides a good level of protection as long as the malware being checked for is already known about.
2. Heuristics
In this case common behavious of viruses are compared with the code on your computer in order to detect new threats that are not already in the virus signatures database.
3. Cloud protection
Cloud protection is an add-on to the above which allows other users of an antivirus program to share new threats found in the wild with the rest of the community, thereby allowing an even quicker response and countermeasure to be developed.
Why do you need antivirus software?
In the early days of the internet hackers and other bad guys used to create viruses in order to claim bragging rights, have a bit of fun or to just gnerally be a nuisance. In more recent times, however, the bedroom nerd has given way to the professional hacker who creates new types of malware with the sole intention of making money.
If you don’t protect your computer with antivirus software then you are at far greater risk of being infected with a Trojan or keylogger, for instance, which could be used to acquire your online banking details or credit card information.
And you wouldn’t want that kind of information in the wrong hands. Would you?