5 Types of Antivirus Programs

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What You'll Need
Internet Connection
What You'll Need
Internet Connection

Anybody who accesses the internet can benefit from knowing about various antivirus programs that enable you to stay safe while online. Accessing websites leaves the way open for unscrupulous people to infect your computer to secretly gather or spy on what you do. By installing suitable software, you can prevent viruses from invading your home computer and other electronic devices.

1. AVG

AVG is one of the most popular antivirus programs that can be obtained for free, and it’s easy to download directly from the internet. In addition to not taking up a significant amount of space on a hard drive, it can also work with a number of different Windows operating systems.

It incorporates both antivirus and antispyware abilities and works by scanning all the files on the computer at regular intervals. Additionally, it has the ability to quarantine virus files so that they cannot do any harm before they can be checked and deleted.

2. McAfee

McAfee VirusScan has been another very popular antivirus program on the market for years, which has enabled the company to cement its position as a strong competitor to Symantec.

It provides spyware and virus protection within one program, rather than separately as many other programs do. It is necessary to take out a subscription to use McAfee, but it will give you access to continuously updating virus protection.

3. Norton

There are a number of Norton antivirus programs available, all produced by Symantec. They have quickly proven themselves to be a market leader when it comes to computer system security, with their products available from a range of different electronics supply stores.

Norton programs are used by the majority of computer users on the market, who pay an annual fee for a subscription service. Norton Anti-Virus and Norton Internet Security are software programs that search the computer regularly and delete any viruses that they find.

4. Kaspersky

Russian-developed Kaspersky is not the most popular of all the antivirus protection programs; many people have probably never heard of them. However, they still provide a very effective product for protection against viruses, spyware, and Trojans. Kaspersky Internet Security and Kaspersky Antivirus prevent problems that computers will encounter in the event that they become infected.

5. Ad-Aware

This software by Lavasoft is another antivirus program that provides protection against a large number of cybersecurity threats that arise from using the Internet. They offer different levels of protection according to how much you want to spend in a one-off payment for the program. In addition to finding and removing viruses and spyware that can detect keystrokes and passwords, it will protect against Trojans.

Advancements in anti-malware technology allow it to provide effective protection while not putting excessive pressure on the system in the process.

Types of Antivirus Programs FAQ

What are the different types of antivirus?

Antivirus software operates in three different and distinct ways. In order to find viruses, antivirus software used either a signature-based, machine learning, or behavior-based protocol.

There are also different types of antivirus software based on operating system. Computers and Macs have different antivirus software, for example.

Is A firewall an antivirus software?

Firewalls and antivirus software both protect your computer or device from malware, spyware, and other dangerous programs. However, they are two distinct types of protection.

A firewall filters traffic at the starting point, monitoring the input your computer or device receives. Antivirus software is more of an endpoint type of protection that inspects files and programs on the operating system.

How many antivirus programs can a computer have?

Antivirus programs are designed to stand alone as protection. Two antivirus programs are not better than one because the two programs can have difficulties both working at the same time and may actually cause programs with your computer's functionality.

Running two antivirus programs at once can actually be so damaging, it is almost better to get viruses than to do this.

Do I need both firewall and antivirus?

Since firewalls and antivirus programs perform different functions, it is recommended to use both. With both a firewall and antivirus protection in place, you will protect your system against damaging programs before and after they get onto your hard drive.

Firewalls help to block dangerous programs but cannot remove them. Antivirus software detects harmful programs and removes them as needed to protect your operating system.

Does antivirus scan all users?

Antivirus software programs are designed to scan the entire hard drive of the operating system. It scans and removes harmful programs across multiple user accounts and profiles to keep the system protected at all times.