Where Antivirus Software Does Not Protect You

Although there are several benefits of having antivirus software installed on your computer, you should never assume that you are 100% protected simply because youíre running an antivirus program. There are many instances where antivirus software alone cannot protect you.

Behavior Blocking
The process of technology blocking malware from accessing certain parts of your operating system is known as behavior blocking. Due to the fact that all antivirus applications function by detecting, cleaning, and preventing infections using virus definitions that are signatures of known threats, they have to be updated in order for you to be protected against new threats. A good example of behavior blocking is in an instance where the technology is used to prevent a virus from sending infected emails to everyone in your address book by blocking access to your address book. Another example is when behavior blocking prevents a virus from being able to terminate any of your systems key processes.

In-Memory Threats
Most types of viruses infect a file, and then the associated viral code runs whenever the application is running. Antivirus scanners scan all the files and folders on your system looking for such an infection. Certain types of infections, such as the W32 Slammer, infect an application as it is running and are never actually written to disk. Since antivirus scanners work by looking for infections in files as opposed to application memory, these types of infections go undetected. If an in-memory security exploit is known to exist in any application, it should be disabled or corrected as soon as possible.

Hackers
Hackers are a very real threat for anyone that has a computer connected to the internet. Basic antivirus software does not provide protection specifically against hacker attacks. In order to best protect your computer from hackers, you’ll need firewalls, intrusion alert systems, and general awareness of what is going on with your system. Some major antivirus software developers offer total security suites that do provide protection against hackers and other online threats, as well as protection for your home or work network. While these types of software usually cost a bit more than traditional antivirus software, they are a wise investment, especially for people that regularly transfer personal information over the internet.

Spyware
Spyware is an often malicious although sometimes simply annoying type of application that records information about your habits on the computer. Spyware is usually designed for either criminal or commercial purposes. As it stands now, most antivirus programs do not scan for these types of applications. However, there are several spyware removal tools available online, and some are even free. Spyware can be very annoying and it can also use up valuable system resources that may result in reduced overall PC performance. Keep in mind, however, that sometimes spyware is bundled with software and is required to be left installed on your machine in order for you to continue using the software that it came with. Information about such spyware can usually be found in the terms of service you must agree to before installing the software that it was bundled with.

Tags: Advice, antivirus, protect, software

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 4:15 am and is filed under Advice, Tips & Suggestions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.