What is Antivirus Program?
January 22, 2008 – 11:33 amAntivirus software is a set of programs designed to detect and eliminate computer viruses and other malware. It accomplishes the task either by scanning files to identify the viruses matching definitions in a virus dictionary or tracking suspicious behavior of any computer program indicating infection.
Using antivirus software is the most reliable way to destroy virus and prevent any malware attack. However, it should be updated regularly to have an effective protection against computer viruses. The mechanism of most antivirus programs depends on both these approaches, with major emphasis on the virus dictionary approach.
Let’s take a more detailed look at both the approaches:
Virus Dictionary Approach: The antivirus program requires referring to a dictionary of known viruses created by the authors of the software. A piece of code in the file must match any virus identified in the dictionary for the antivirus program to perform its action which could either be repairing the file by removing the virus or delete the infected file. It may also quarantine the file, thereby making it inaccessible to other programs to prevent virus transmission.
Dictionary based antivirus software usually detects infected files when the operating system creates, opens, close or e-mails them. It helps it to detect a known virus immediately upon receipt.
Detecting Suspicious Behavior: This approach monitors the behavior of all programs. In case, any program tries to write data to an executable program, the antivirus program can flag the suspicious behavior followed by alerting the user. This enables it to provide the best protection against latest computer viruses that have not been added in the virus dictionary yet.
Although antivirus software may not be an ideal solution to protect your computer against malware and malicious code, but it is an essential part of your PC’s security.
