A reputable antivirus program can protect against malware infections and eliminate threats to computers, networks or even entire IT systems. The programs scan websites, files, downloaded software, and user data for known malware types. They also monitor the program’s behavior to identify possible threats.
The majority of antivirus protections provide a variety of scanning techniques that include scheduled, speedy and on-access scans. On-access scans search directories that are part of the operating system as well as common file regions to search for malicious code upon launch. Scheduled scans allow you to set up a daily, weekly or monthly schedule for running a complete system scan at a specific time. Quick scans are typically a short amount of time and will examine the most frequently used areas on your computer, including temporary files as well as the operating system directory, and memory.
Certain programs employ heuristic detection to look for malware by looking for similar trends or patterns. This is a more sophisticated kind of virus detection than signature-based detection and it is able to identify malware that other programs fail to detect. These advanced forms of antivirus detection may not work as well for small businesses, as they are often prone to false positives–identifying secure parts of files and programs as potentially harmful.
As the world of business is becoming more interconnected hackers are targeting companies more frequently to score caches of customer information or to make their name through hacktivism (disrupting professional systems for political or social reasons). Antivirus protection is essential for all types of enterprises to have in place to prevent these cyberattacks and keep your company and its customers protected.