The best antivirus software offers strong protection against malware and a range of cybersecurity protections and superior performance across all operating systems. It must also be light on your computer’s resources so it doesn’t slow down or even crash.
Traditional antivirus programs looked for viruses by looking at the files after they were written to disk on devices or downloaded from the internet. The software will either quarantine or remove a suspicious document to stop the spread of malware. This software was great at combating viruses of a basic nature but as the number of malware threats that were new grew rapidly over the last decade, the older antivirus programs had a difficult time identifying new threats and stop them from doing damage.
Antivirus replacements, also often referred to EDR (Enterprise Endpoint Detection and Response) solutions, employ a full set of security tools to identify and block everything from common malware to novel attacks that have never been observed before. This approach has proven to be more efficient than traditional antivirus programs which rely on signature-based detection.
You need to use your computer and have a good level of common sense before you can determine if you are in need of an antivirus program. An antivirus program that is reliable is essential if you visit sites that are not safe or download pirated software or have no other security measures for cybersecurity. If you’re a Mac user who only uses the app store and keeps your security high it’s possible to do without one. But all users ought to at least think about getting an antivirus tool to protect against the phishing attacks.
