One of the most popular questions in every IT forum and also in this blog, concerns the security of the computer, that is, whether installing a certain antivirus program is sufficient to be calm or if it is also necessary to protect the computer. The confusion comes because it often happens to catch a virus despite having an antivirus installed and then discover that that is actually called malware and that it takes another program to remove it since the antivirus does not get it out of the way.
After seeing what is, in my opinion, the best combination of programs to protect the computer (free do-it-yourself suite), we delve into the difference between antivirus and anti-malware to know which one to use to protect the computer to the maximum .
First of all it is important to know that the programs that infect the computer are not only called viruses but also Trojans, worms, malware or in other ways.
Viruses are just a subset of malware.
Malware is the generic term used to describe all types of unwanted or malicious code. Malware can therefore be a virus, spyware, adware, trojan, worm or other things.
Another article explains in more detail what the differences are between the types of malware, Trojans, Worms and Viruses .
However, as viruses (and to a lesser extent Trojans and worms) have made more headlines and more damage in the past and as the word virus is more common, most security companies have called their " anti -virus ".
There are other tools called " anti-malware ", but since malware is a broad term that includes many things, it is not clear what threats they protect against.
The American website Lifehacker comes to our aid and interviewed some of the biggest companies to ask them which malware they protect their products from .
1) the best antivirus for Windows PC, right now, is Avast .
Avast Antivirus Free, as explained by the developers themselves, scans and protects PCs from all varieties of malware .
Although the term " Antivirus " has been preserved, viruses are not the real problems today.
Most common of the viruses are malware such as Trojans, worms, backdoors, exploits, adware and other potentially unwanted programs that may include communication clients to the outside, remote desktops and password detectors, to name a few.
Today's cybercriminals look to today's online society as an opportunity to steal personal data, including credit card details and bank details, PINs and passwords, and information such as home addresses, phone numbers or even member names. of the family.
Criminals can, for example, write malicious code and distribute it in the form of a trojan capable of collecting personal data that can be sold to criminal organizations.
The Avast user base is made up of more than 184 million people worldwide, each of whom is connected to the Avast Cloud which allows you to analyze every potential threat online.
As soon as malware is detected, a real-time update is sent to all users providing immediate protection against almost all new malware.
Avast protects against "classic" threats such as viruses, worms and trojans, and also offers protection against adware, bots and other exploits .
Avast then updates its customers in real time whenever new threats are detected, without forcing users to download huge update packages.
2) McAfee, the popular paid antivirus widely used in companies, protects against viruses and malware, including trojans, worms, spyware, rootkits and keyloggers.
However, the level of protection McAfee offers depends on the product installed and how much you pay.
3) Symantec, which makes the famous, notorious, but always valid Norton antivirus, explained that all Norton security tools scan all forms of malware (including viruses) and that encourage their users to think about malware in broader terms.
Norton security programs protect computers from infectious malware, web threats, hidden malware and malware for mobile phones, smartphones and tablets.
Infectious malware consists of viruses and worms.
Web threats are the most advanced forms of malware that we regularly see today: keyloggers, adware, bots and ransomware.
Hidden malware are fake Trojans, backdoors, rootkits and antivirus software.
Even if there are price differences between Norton programs, the positive side is that all Norton products offer the same basic level of protection.
4) Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is my favorite scan tool whenever I suspect of some infection or virus in my computer.
Malwarebytes is capable of detecting as many malware as possible, however, it does not specialize in classic threats such as viruses and worms.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is strong at catching zero-day threats, that is, newly created and published unknown malware.
Among these we can think of the malware distributed via Facebook, the exploits of programs such as Skype or Adobe Acrobat Reader, of the programs that display advertising on the screen or of those who take the computer hostage, behaving in a normal way, however asking for the payment of a sum for their removal.
Default Scanner Settings MalwareBytes detects potentially unwanted software, but does not automatically remove it, leaving the user with the decision.
MalwareBytes Antimalware is recommended as an additional protection tool beyond normal antivirus, to be doubly protected from the old and the new.
Put simply, Malwarebytes aims to protect against all types of malware, but let the antivirus take care of common viruses and threats .
Their goal is to protect users from new exploits, trojans, backdoors, non-traditional adware and spyware.
In conclusion, after reading these 4 comments which, I repeat, are the summary of interviews with the developers of Avast, Norton, McAfee and Malwarebytes, we say that to keep your computer safe from malware you don't need to pay, you just need to be prepared, prevent and know how to intervene.
To summarize, what you need is:
- An antivirus with real time protection like Avast (more complete) or as MSE (lighter and already included in Windows 8) that has a scan engine always on, which protects while browsing the web, during the installation of applications and every time you open a file.
- A second protection against new threats like MalwareBytes Antimalware, which in its free version can only be used manually, to be used occasionally to make sure that nothing has been overlooked.
With this combination you will get maximum protection, completely free.
If you then want to add more (but it may be superfluous), you can read the article to create a better suite of programs to protect your computer
NOTE : It is not a good idea to use two security tools that work all the time in the background on the computer because, they will probably interfere with each other creating instability and slowing down the computer.
There are however exceptions like Immunet Protect
When it pays to pay for a Premium security tool "> Best Recommended Antivirus for Windows PC), it pays to buy ESET or Kaspersky antivirus.
You should never think, however, that the more money you spend the more you are protected, this correlation does not exist.
For my part I will never recommend a paid antivirus because they offer no advantage over the free solutions.
To stay prepared against any security emergency, in another article we saw all the main programs to use to remove viruses from the computer, which it is advisable to have at hand.
