Antivirus software To help protect computers against new and unknown
identifies, prevents, and removes malware from a malware, heuristic detection algorithms were created. Heuristic computer system. Malware is any number of viruses and software methods allow antivirus software to detect variants of existing bits that intend to harm the computer or steal information, such malware and new, never before seen malware. Heuristics use virus as viruses, adware, rootkits, backdoors, hijackers, keyloggers, signature databases to find viruses, but do not require an exact spyware, trojans, and worms. Modern antivirus software employs match to identify a virus. Heuristic detection algorithms scan files several methods to detect and remove malware. However, no for random combinations of signatures to detect malware. antivirus software can detect and prevent all possible malware. Rootkit Detection Rootkits are a particularly nasty form of malware. This Kinds of Antivirus Software type of malware is stealthy and evades standard signature-based and heuristic detection methods. Rootkits can alter the operating Signature Based Detection system of a computer to change how it works and even alter Nearly all antivirus software uses signature-based antivirus software itself to make it inoperable. In some extreme detection as part of its virus detection process. Each virus has a cases, rootkits can destroy an operating system, making it digital signature; a code that causes the virus to perform the completely unrecoverable. This requires a complete system functions it was designed to perform. On a regular schedule, or at reinstallation and usually results in a total loss of data. Top of the user's instruction, antivirus software downloads an updated the line antivirus software often has the ability to scan for database of known virus signatures. The antivirus software can rootkits, but with limited success. then scan each file on the computer's hardware and memory and compare the entire file, as well as small sections of each file, Real Time Protection against the virus signature database.This method is very effective Most antivirus software provides real-time protection, against preventing infection from known viruses. However, it often under any number of clever synonyms such as resident cannot identify new viruses that are not located in its database. shield, background guard, autoprotect, and so on. The real-time Additionally, virus authors have begun writing oligomorphic, protection feature of these antivirus programs monitors all polymorphic, and metamorphic viruses, which contain algorithms activity in a computer for processes and activities that appear to randomly encrypt or alter part of their own code. This provides suspicious. This is done at all load and read times; any time a file the virus an effective disguise by changing its virus signature. is accessed, loaded, or downloaded. This feature helps protect against malware that has made it onto the computer system but has not yet been activated.