Looking for an antivirus? Here a few things to remember

Today, every computer, smartphone, and personal computer is connected to the Internet almost all the time. This open freeway connection has increased the vulnerability of personal computers to threats from different types of malware. Malware are any software or programs that can steal information from your computer or cause your computer to malfunction. These can end up on your computer through downloaded email attachments, applications, a web page or a software. You need an antivirus to protect your computer from such malicious software and programs.

There are a lot of antivirus software available in the market. You should buy an antivirus software based on factors such as your computer, the operating system running on your computer, and your budget. Checking customer ratings of different antivirus software will also make it easier for you to decide which is the best antivirus available in the market.

Here are a few things to remember before buying an antivirus software.

What are computer viruses?

• A computer virus is a short piece of code embedded in a program, application, webpage or software.
• Computer viruses are written with the intent of damaging your computer.
• They are transmitted through email attachments and often in the form “free” software or any media file that might require you install software to run the file. The virus is usually written within the downloaded software.

What are the popular types of malware that an antivirus software can protect a computer from?

• Trojan – The term is derived from Greek mythology, where the Greeks gifted to the Trojans a wooden horse within which were hiding Greek soldiers. Similarly, a trojan virus appears to be a legitimate software. However, once installed and loaded in a computer, it gives a backdoor access to cyber criminals who can manipulate the data on the computer.
• Spyware – Spyware are programmed to piggyback on legitimate software that a user wants to genuinely install on their computer. Spyware can severely affect the performance of a computer by changing settings, disrupting network connections, collect information from the user’s online interactions and so on.
• Keyloggers – Keyloggers are also a type of spyware. They can record every keystroke of a user, record information such as emails, instant messages, and bank account information and store the information in a log file. This file is sent to the creator of the keylogger malware.
• Adware – Adware is a type of software that generates unwanted ad popups. These sometimes come bundled with free software and also appear while using certain web pages. Although quite a few adware are harmless, many have spyware and keyloggers built into them.

How do antivirus software work?

• Once it is installed, you have to run an antivirus software on your computer or mobile device.
• The antivirus software will scan every file in your device’s system.
• The best antivirus software has a repository or database of information of known viruses and malware.
• During the scan, each file in your computer will be compared with each piece of information in the antivirus repository.
• If any matches are found, the antivirus software will attempt to remove the malware from your computer’s system.

How to find the best antivirus software?

• The best antivirus software can be found by comparing user reviews. Existing customers can provide well-informed insight into the overall performance of a particular antivirus product.
• Another good place to look for the best antivirus available in the market is to join a computer security forum and see what experts recommend and also read honest user reviews.
• Forums such as Quora, Yahoo Answers, Reddit, and so on can also provide useful information about the most popular and best antivirus software. However, you have to careful while reading these reviews. These websites often have fake reviews due to the websites’ free-for-all open access.