How do antivirus and antispyware work to protect you?

by Billy J Long Guidance, PSA Articles

Article (PSA-0030)
Submitted by: Billy Joe Long
Company: PSA Computer Services
Titled: How do antivirus and antispyware work to protect you?

In this article, we’ll talk briefly about how antivirus and antispyware work together to keep your computer safe from potential threats.

1. Real-Time Scanning: Both antivirus and antispyware software continuously monitor your system in real-time. They scan files as they’re downloaded or executed on your computer. If any malware or spyware is found, the software notifies you immediately.

2. Scheduled Scanning: In addition to real-time scanning, these programs can be set to perform systematic scans of all or selected files on your hard drive at specific intervals. This ensures that even hidden threats are detected and dealt with.

3. Signature-Based Detection: Antivirus and antispyware tools use a list of known threats called “definitions” to identify suspicious software. These definitions should update automatically as new threats emerge, ensuring the software stays effective against the latest malware and spyware.

To benefit from these features, it’s essential to have properly licensed, up-to-date antivirus and antispyware programs installed on your computer. Connecting to the internet without adequate protection can expose your system to potential threats.

For those using a Microsoft Windows operating system, antivirus, antispyware and firwall software are included at no additional cost and do not require a subsciption. Additionally, the software is updated during automatic Windows updates, ensuring you always have the most up-to-date threat definitions.

In summary, using reputable antivirus and antispyware software is crucial in safeguarding your computer from malicious programs. Always ensure these tools are up-to-date and functioning properly to maintain the best level of protection possible. No home or business computer should be without malware protection. These important applications, coupled with a healthy dose of common sense, are the key components to protecting your computers and networks from malware.

If you would like more information or have a specific question concerning PC security, call (707) 506-6802 to speak with a technician.