Protection: Antivirus Software
Antivirus software (we'll call it
AVS for this article) has come to mean any program or program suite that
blocks or cures viruses. If you read no further, remember this:
AVS sometimes fails, leaving you to setup your computer from scratch.
A
clean, current backup of your hard drive is part of any serious anti-virus plan.
How Antivirus Software Works
Remember the
Dirty Dozen? There are many different kinds of threats, and
AVS suites
use different programs to fight each one. But they all have 3 things in common:
their first job is to recognize malware; their second job is to render it harmless;
and their third job is tell you what happened.
Malware Recognition: Virus Dictionaries
Computers don't 'just know' what a virus looks like: they need a sample of each virus's
programming code to pick out a viruses.
AVS companies put pictures
of all
known viruses into a
virus dictionary - think of them as mug shots.
Since new viruses enter the environment all the time, software developers update
their virus dictionaries constantly. But that's not enough to help you:
you
have to update the dictionary on your hard drive too. Most
AVS suites have a one-click
method for updating definitions.
Most also allow you to schedule automatic updates at a regular time. Here are
some
tips to make sure you're virus definitions stay current.
| 1. |
Use the the help screens. They're usually straightforward and simple. |
| 2. |
Most AVS requires that you set the automatic update
feature yourself. Don't take for granted that automatic updates are "on": Check
to make sure. |
| 3. |
Updates will only work when your machine is on and connected to the internet. They will not work in "standby". If you
run updates during the wee hours, make sure your machine's is not set to shut down before the updates run (especially true for laptop owners - check Power Settings). |
| 4. |
Some antivirus software has confusing names. Check the contents of your
anti-virus software. Norton & Symantic suites usually provide
protection against multiple kinds of malware - but not all brands do. Check
the contents: make sure what you're loading covers multiple kinds of malware. |
Secondary Threat Defenses
What happens when there's no virus definition? Some
AVS tires
to identify malware based on the way it behaves in your machine. These
watchdog programs are similar to police surveillance - they watch the program
move around and interact with other programs, ports, and machine internals. Surveillance
programs like these are called
heuristics.
When a secondary defense thinks it'sfound a problem,
a pop-up a window will A) tell you that a potentially unsafe program
is running, and B) ask you if you want to block it. Heuristics generate plenty of
false positives: your best guess will have to do.
Scans
AVS will try to catch malware as it enters your computer
- during email reception or file transfers. It may also trap a virus when you
start the program that carries it. But a virus that
has no "mug
shot" can bypass the AVS and sleep in your computer until later.
AVS scans are designed to hunt out malware already on your hard drive. New mug
shots come out constantly, and a scan may be able to apply them to
dormant viruses. Conduct
AVS scans
of your hard drive at least once a week.
What Do You Do When You Contract Malware?
Click here to read about fixes.
Firewalls
A firewall is not AVS software. A firewall is a piece of hardware or software
which inspects network traffic and denies or permits passage
based on a set of rules (from Wikipedia).
(Read More).
