Anti-Virus
From TheBestCaseScenario
| The last line of defense between you and would be attackers. |
Anti virus software is software that protects your computer from a host of malicious programs. Most anti virus programs block viruses, trojans, dialers, and specific types of malware.
Anti virus programs traditionally use a dictionary based search to find a virus. This is scanning every file (alternately, every recently modified file) for specific pieces of code that the virus creates. This method requires continual updating and scanning on a regular basis. Newer versions of anti virus software does this for the user and allows them to schedule when they want the computer to scan, as this can use a large amount of resources and make the computer operate slowly.
Another method anti virus programs use is suspicious behavior from programs. For the user, this takes the effect of a resident shield or constant scanner. These scanners watch programs for behavior outside of their normal or intended uses and often either take countermeasures or ask the user. This method is problematic for users who aren't comfortable with the software, because they often just accept all the alerts and don't know the difference between a real threat and common occurance. Another issue with this is resource consumption. Having a program that monitors the actions of all the other programs is a very resource-costly method of protection.
[edit] Software Links
[edit] Free Anti-Virus