Reasons To Have Antivirus Software

April 14, 2021

Antivirus software has been commonly regarded as a necessity for anyone using a computer. However, some people still believe that good online safety etiquette can serve as an alternative to proper antivirus software! This is not the case.

There are plenty of reasons why you need antivirus software solutions in both your professional and personal life. This can be online antivirus programs, free internet security, and even mobile antivirus software! Understand the main reasons to install virus and malware protection software on your computer now. Once you know these reasons, you will be ready to search for the best antivirus programs for you!

Protects Sensitive And Personal Data

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Data-stealing malware is one of the most prevalent forms of computer viruses around! This can happen through several creative means. Examples include 'scraping' your computer screen for pertinent information and logging your keystrokes to determine your account passwords. Data-stealing can even include installing a backdoor that can flip off permissions and open the gate for those who want access to your information.

Good antivirus software protects your sensitive and personal data by remaining diligent and keeping pace with clever virus developers. Cyber-criminals and antivirus designers are in an arms race. That means functional antivirus software is never going to be a static thing. Instead, it will update protocols and repositories as soon as new threats begin to arise. It is your first line of defense against threats to your personal information and identity!

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Blocks Harmful Websites

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Computer viruses do not appear out of nowhere! Instead, they are dispersed over the internet. This means that your web browser is the most obvious point of exposure to malware and other threats! Criminals use web domains, email addresses, and clever website design to funnel users into sites that look legitimate even under some extended scrutiny. These strategies trick individuals and instead install malware on their devices.

Diligence should be your first defense here. Thus, always double-check the sent from email address before clicking on any links in an email and verify a website before inputting any personal information. Keep in mind that criminals will often use alarming threats to get you to click on their link immediately without checking! However, you do not need to trust your instincts alone! Antivirus software offers two layers of defense. First, it can protect you against sites that look suspicious and double-check files downloaded from the site.

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Reduction In Spam

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Features to stop spam are not a priority in every piece of antivirus software. However, many suites are committed to providing users a reduction in spam! Spam is not always malicious, and it cannot be flagged for threats in the same way as downloads. However, spam can be very annoying to experience! Thankfully, many antivirus software programs use whitelists and blacklists effectively. Whitelists allow the user to create a list of email addresses that will never be flagged as spam. These emails will reach their inbox!

Blacklists draw from established databases to block email addresses that have been flagged as spam a certain number of times. Users can also add addresses to this list! Anything on a blacklist will end up in an individual's spam folder immediately. In addition, spam filters check for malware and will automatically quarantine affected emails. Users will typically have a month to identify and save any emails that were inappropriately filtered. These filters tend to be updated often to stay on top of the latest threats.

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Prevents Computer Performance Problems

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Some individuals believe this software slows down their computer. However, with most virus databases moving to the cloud, the impact of this software is not substantial. At the same time, computer viruses are more than just a danger to your personal information. Viruses often work by hijacking the processes in your computer. It uses your computer against you! This means you have to share your processing power with something that is actively working against you.

Even software that does not hijack your computer this way can negatively affect its performance. Sometimes a computer virus is purely destructive. In other cases, internal errors and damage to your operating system are simply side effects! These issues can build up over time without you even realizing it. However, quality antivirus software prevents computer performance problems. This is another reason why you need to have it on your computer!

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Offers Automatic Virus Scans

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Most modern antivirus software programs are designed to operate automatically without a user needing to trigger them. The best pieces of software offer automatic virus scans. They are usually accompanied by automatic downloads of the latest virus databases! Antivirus software is not much good to you if you never use it! However, you would be hard-pressed to find a modern platform that does not come with an automated option.

Automatic scans are great and often mean you do not have to look at your virus software much, if at all. With this in mind, though, it is important to remember that detailed reports accompany these scans. The reports can contain vital information, so it can be worth looking at them. In addition, you can also run deeper scans manually every so often. Automatic ones are good for day-to-day, but may only scratch the surface! Deeper scans can catch more issues that may have been first identified in an automatic scan.

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