MOST, if not all, of us in Guyana have heard about viruses. In today’s column, we’re attempting to better understand computer viruses; the software that is made by many IT geeks to turn things upside down in our digital life, just to make it miserable, if it’s not so already.What is anti-virus software?
Anti-virus software is a programme, or set of programmes, designed to prevent, search for, detect, and remove software viruses, and other malicious software like worms, trojans, adware, and more.

Anti-virus software typically uses two different techniques to accomplish this:
1. Examining files to look for known viruses by means of a virus dictionary;
2. Identifying suspicious behaviour from any computer programme which might indicate infection.

Virus Dictionary
In the virus dictionary approach, when the anti-virus software examines a file, it refers to a dictionary of known viruses that have been identified by the author of the anti-virus software. If a piece of code in the file matches any virus identified in the dictionary, then the anti-virus software can then either delete the file; quarantine it so that the file is inaccessible to other programmes and its virus is unable to be spread; or attempt to repair the file by removing the virus itself from it.

Suspicious Behaviour Approach
The suspicious behaviour approach, by contrast, doesn’t attempt to identify known viruses, but instead monitors the behaviour of all programmes. If one programme tries to write data to another programme, for example, this is flagged as suspicious behaviour and the user is alerted to this, then asked what to do.

Do I need an Antivirus Software for my computer?
There are literally dozens of different ways a computer can become infected with spyware, viruses, and other malware. Below is a list of the most common ways a computer can contract these infections, listed in the order we believe are most commonly done.

While browsing the Internet, an Internet advertisement appears that says your computer is infected; or that a unique plug-in is required; or you have been selected for a lottery; or you have just won a vacation trip for two, and that you should “click to enter your information”. And, without fully understanding what it is you’re getting, you accept the prompt.

When installing or updating a programme, you’re asked (Often, checkboxes are already checked) if it’s ‘OK’ to install additional programmes that you may not want, or are designed to monitor your usage of the programme.

Another very common way people become infected with viruses and other spyware is by opening e-mail attachments, even when from a co-worker, friend, or family member. E-mail addresses can be faked, and even when not faked, your acquaintance may unsuspectingly be forwarding you an infected file. When receiving an e-mail with an attachment, if the e-mail was not expected, or is from someone you don’t know, delete it. If the e-mail is from someone you know, be cautious when opening the attachment.

Downloading any other software from the Internet can also contain viruses and other malware. When downloading any software (programmes, utilities, games, updates, demos, etc.), make sure you’re downloading the software from a reliable source; and while installing it, you’re reading all prompts about what the programme is putting on your computer.

If you or someone on your computer are participating in underground places on the Internet, where you’re downloading copyrighted music, movies, software, etc. for free, often, many of the files can contain viruses, spyware or malicious software.

Inserting an unprotected flash-drive or memory-card into your system can also cause harm. Now, answer the question for yourself: Does your system need an antivirus software? Yes!

These tools are critical for users to have installed and updated because a computer, tablet, smart-phone and phablet with no anti-virus software installed can, and, in most cases, will be infected within minutes of connecting to the Internet, the largest network in the universe.

Is there anything negative about antivirus?
Antivirus software does have some drawbacks: It can impair a computer’s performance. Inexperienced users can be lulled into a false sense of security when using the computer, considering themselves to be totally protected, and may have problems understanding the prompts and decisions that antivirus software presents them with. An incorrect decision may lead to a security breach. If the antivirus software employs heuristic detection, it must be fine-tuned to minimize misidentifying harmless software as malicious (false positive). Antivirus software itself usually runs at the highly trusted level of the operating system to allow it access to all potential malicious processes and files, thereby creating a potential avenue of attack.
There are several different companies that build and offer anti-virus software, and what each offers can vary, but all perform some basic functions, such as:
• Scan specific files or directories for any malware or known malicious patterns
• Allow you to schedule scans to automatically run for you
• Allow you to initiate a scan of a specific file or of your computer, or of a CD or flash drive at any time.
• Remove any malicious code detected –sometimes you will be notified of an infection and asked if you want to clean the file, other programs will automatically do this behind the scenes.
• Show you the ‘health’ of your computer
Always be sure you have the best, up-to-date security software installed to protect your computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Examples of antivirus software:
Kaspersky antivirus: It is one of the costliest software which is available at the present time. As compared to the other antivirus software’s it is highly efficient in tracking a number of security issues like virus, worms, spyware, Trojan etc.

Kingsoft Antivirus: This is a different kind of software that focuses on the malware that usually come when you are downloading anything from the internet.
Norton Antivirus: It is one of the popular and bulky antiviruses that help to fight against the numerous security issues that you have been facing in your system. In order to fully utilize the features of Norton antivirus you will have to upgrade it to Norton Internet Security.
Avast! Free Antivirus: The upgraded version of Avast is highly efficient in ensuring that your system is protected from all kinds of threats and viruses.
AVG Antivirus: AVG has always been a popular choice of users when it comes to securing their systems. The new feature, “Resident Shield”, has the capacity of preventing any unknown user from opening any file.
Avira Antivirus: This is one of the most optimum software that is used to track worms, malware, spyware, virus, Trojans and other sort of threats. The software can be downloaded for free and installed to overcome the security problems in your computers.
Microsoft Security Essentials: Using this programme is very simple, and regular updating makes it all the more stronger to track the newest spyware that have entered in your system. Despite the fact that this is the first antivirus from Microsoft, there is no doubt that it is efficient and compatible with a number of operating systems. It is free software, and can be downloaded from any reliable source.
Ever wondered what a computer would be without antivirus software? I don’t want to.