|
Antivirus
software, An overview of anti-virus software In
this section we cover one of the most important aspects of computer
maintenance, antivirus protection. The virus The
internet is an excellent tool, and no doubt has changed the way most people
communicate. Unfortunately the internet, email in particular, has created an
easy to target medium for the spread of computer viruses. As you have probably
heard these viruses can cause absolute chaos to whole networks of computers at
a time. A
virus is basically a malicious computer program. The effect (payload) of
viruses differ, some either modify, delete or steal data and others may give
control of your PC over to their creators via the internet. One thing they all
have in common is that if you get infected and you don't have antivirus
software, you might not know you have it until it is too late. A
Worm refers to a virus that can replicate and spread by itself over a network
(the internet for instance). Worms are getting very common and are among the
biggest troublemakers on the internet. A
virus/worm can sit on your machine for months (potentially even years) without
doing anything, and then be triggered by a certain date/time to do what it has
been designed to do, this is referred to as its payload. As
these viruses/worms become ever more advanced, the need for antivirus software
has never been so great. Antivirus software Antivirus
software is designed to keep your PC free of these computer viruses &
worms. It does so by scanning your PC's file system looking for known viruses,
if a virus is found it will inform you, and then take steps to remove the virus
threat. Good
antivirus software will automatically check any files being transferred to and
from your computer. Any antivirus software should at least scan attachments of
incoming emails automatically (even if the option can be turned off). http://www.pctools.com/free-antivirus/ Virus definition
files Antivirus
software usually works by checking a file for certain patterns of binary code. The
patterns which it uses to identify viruses are stored in what is known as a
virus definition file. When a new virus comes out, the virus definition file
needs to be updated to include the new virus' pattern. The
importance of keeping these definition files updated cannot be overstated,
basically antivirus software without updated definition files is useless. |
|