Antivirus software has become an essential tool in safeguarding our system online and offline. However, the question often arises in our heads is whether these software programs provide us complete protection against all types of malware and viruses or not.
It is worth investigating if antivirus software works 100% of the time and if it is capable of removing all malicious software from your devices or not.
Antivirus software, also known as anti-malware software, is a computer program that is designed to prevent, detect, and eliminate malware from the system with the emergence of other types of cybersecurity threats such as worms, trojans, spyware, and adware, antivirus software has evolved to offer protection against a wide range of computer threats.
Additionally, some antivirus software also provides features that guard against malicious URLs, spam, and phishing attempts to provide more comprehensive protection. Since we know cybercrimes do not have limits, there are thousands of hackers around the world looking to exploit victims, be it for their data or money, or both.
Antivirus software scans your device regularly for potential threats in your devices and identifies potential threats coming from incoming files and apps such as malware and viruses. Either you can choose to conduct manual scans or have the program run scans automatically.
The software uses a database of known dangerous code, files, and other content to better identify potential threats and keep your device safe.
When an antivirus program identifies a malicious file or program, it isolates it to prevent further harm to the device. The program then checks the file or program for potential risks and removes it from the device if it is deemed harmful.
However, how effective is this process; is it 100% risk-free?
According to the data, no antivirus software can provide 100% protection in detecting, isolating, and removing all harmful files. Even top providers like Norton and McAfee may not be able to detect new malware that is not yet on their database.
As we discussed, antivirus programs use a database of known malicious files and code to identify and delete them from your devices. However, if a kind of malware comes along that is not logged on the antivirus database, it will fail to work.
Also, some malware and viruses are designed to avoid detection by antivirus programs, for instance, stealth viruses, which use code modification and encryption to bypass standard scans. These types of viruses may require more advanced software to be detected and deleted.
However, not updating your antivirus programs will increase the chances of malware going undetected and leaving vulnerabilities for cyber actors to compromise.
Nevertheless, Norton and McAfee have 99% success rates in protecting your system. Antivirus programs also offer additional security features like VPNs, firewalls, and, password managers.