Anti Virus Uses And Benefits Computer Science Essay

This report presents antivirus protection, its definition and different types of. It shows how it is important of this program to protect computer. Because attacker spread viruses around the world, people need strong and effective antivirus program to prevent their computers from these viruses. In this report, will be mentioned the idea of antivirus protection types, how its work and which methods use and benefits of this program.

Introduction

A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer. It is also used to refer to other types of malware, including to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. In fact, the world has witnessed great development in the computer world and most of businesses have become highly dependent on the computer. Since most computers are now connected to the Internet it is increasing the chance for spreading these viruses which necessitated the presence of powerful software to protect computers from these threats. Antivirus software is a simple tool to use, but it has a large effect. It search on your computer for malicious files, viruses and spyware that are hidden somewhere.

Definition and Types of Antivirus

The Antivirus (or anti-virus) software is a program that used to prevent, detect, and remove malware, including computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Such programs may also prevent and remove adware, spyware, and other forms of malware. These software scan throw the PC of the computer looking for viruses to remove it before the virus start to damage the computer files. There are different types of Antivirus software that have been developed over the years to keep up with the current virus issue such as Conventional Disk Scanner, Memory Resident Scanners, Behavior Based Detection and Start up Scanners. Some of this software can be run upon the users request and others are designed to be run every time the PC id booted up (types of antivirus).

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Top Antivirus

There is a lot of Antivirus software, but they are not built with the same power. The most powerful Antivirus software is the Shield Deluxe 2011- Antivirus Protection. This antivirus company protects tens of millions of home and business users across the globe. You can set your computer to update viruses weekly and run a complete virus scan. The system can be restored after malicious activity. It controls the status of the system registry and notifies users of any suspicious objects. The second powerful antivirus software is the Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus 2011. It provides complete and easy to use protection from Internet-threats. Then the Norton Antivirus 2011 come after which provide fast, responsive defense against all types of malicious software. The new Norton Protection System employs a multilayered set of security technologies that work to detect, identify, and block attacks. There is also the Panda Antivirus 2011 which is a good choice for windows that keeps the computer protected from any Internet threats. More over there is the Zone Alarm Antivirus software which is the best virus protection with significantly enhanced detection and removal capabilities. There are also the ESET NOD32 Antivirus and mthe Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 which are good on protecting (best antivirus software).

How antivirus program work

2 of 4 Antivirus programs are designed to protect computer systems from viruses. These programs provide two levels of functionality when protecting against viruses which are real time protection and scanning of files stored on computer drives or disks (Anti-virus). Antivirus programs can detect viruses by two ways. First way is Footprint of virus program and this method is a common method that used to identify viruses. Footprint is the pattern of data that include file. The purpose of this method is comparing the virus footprint with a library of known footprints that match viruses. Also when using this method, viruses must be as viruses and then added to the library of footprints. Footprint of virus program has a one disadvantage. There is a time period when the virus is released to when the library of known footprints is updated. Virus will not be recognized during this period and it could affect computer. In addition, Characteristics of program is the second way to detect viruses from computer. This method called heuristic scanning and it examines the actions that the program attempts to take or may attempt to take. It looks at the type of system function calls that included in the executable code. It looks if this calls too suspicious, may flag the program as a possible virus and ask for user intervention. As footprint method, characteristics of program have a disadvantage which is that there is no time period when the computer is not protected after specific viruses are released (Anti-virus, n.d).

Benefits of Antivirus Protection

Downloading or buying any antivirus software program give chance for people to buy any desktop or laptop. Antivirus program is the best safe measure to stop and minimize risk and any effects. There are various levels of security protection for PCs and they depend on the particular antivirus program offered by trusted vendors. However, there are many benefits that all antivirus programs offer. First of all, it thwarts any virus that related damage. Any antivirus program helps to prevent damaging operating system and other functionalities of the PC from any virus that PC attached. Second, antivirus program maintains PC’s security. This happens by updating antivirus package or creating a firewall to improve a PC’s overall security. It helps to keep operation system running and internet resource accessing and browsing experience. Third, all antivirus programs protect data and information. All information, critical data, presentations, files, documents, photos, and other material stored in the computer are secured from virus attacks infections. Finally, antivirus programs protect financial saving. Any unprotected or less protected PC is easy to attack from viruses. With effective antivirus program that protect the PC, you don’t need help from technical support and loss a lot of money (Benefits of Antivirus Protection, n.d).

Conclusion

In sum up, the use of antivirus program is protecting computers from viruses attack. It helps to prevent data and information to be attacked. Antivirus program is software that installing to computer and use to scan PC to search any viruses can damage the computer. There are different types of Antivirus software that developed to use for production. There are many powerful antivirus programs that built with high quality of protection like Norton and MacAfee. Furthermore, this program can detect any virus by two ways which are footprint and characteristics. This kind of program has many benefits of using, it helps to prevent any virus that related damage to computer maintain CP’s security and protect data and information.

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