Anti-virus Software

Anti-virus software checks your system for the presence of viruses and deletes them if found. Anti-virus software makers constantly update their databases as new viruses are discovered. Your computer is not automatically sent these updates. It's up to you to download these periodically. For the anti-virus software on your computer to be effective, its database of known viruses needs to be updated frequently. Generally, it is made very convenient for you to download these additions to your computer via the Internet.

Advantages of anti-virus software:

Anti-virus software is a vital tool but it has certain drawbacks, particularly when used for protection from Trojan horses.

Anti-virus software benefits:

• Anti-virus software is a good tool to locate and delete computer viruses from your system
• As a rule anti-virus software is easy to use
• Most anti-virus software makers update their virus databases so their users can protect themselves against the latest viruses.

Anti-virus software drawbacks:

• Most do not specialize in Trojan horses. Databases used by anti-virus software contain only a few Trojans.
• Anti-virus software can't protect your computer from Internet attacks because the software doesn't include the analysis and monitoring of your network connections.

Continue using anti-virus software but be aware that it is not sufficient to completely secure your computer on the Internet. Along with your anti-virus software, we recommend using a firewall and/or anti-Trojan software.