Project By:-
Sandeep
Roll No:- 22
What is antivirus software?
Antivirus software is a computer program that
detects, prevents, and takes action to disarm
or remove malicious software programs, such
as viruses and worms. You can help protect
your computer against viruses by using
antivirus software.
Computer viruses are software programs that
are deliberately designed to interfere with
computer operation, record, corrupt, or delete
data, or spread themselves to other
computers and throughout the Internet.
To help prevent the most current viruses, you
must update your antivirus software regularly.
You can set up most types of antivirus
software to update automatically.
History Of Anti Virus
Back in 1988 viruses grabbed the mass media attention
and some of the best researchers in the antivirus world
begun their work before 1989. So 1988 was the year in
witch antivirus comerciants emerged, and their launch
produced a big agitation over what was at the time only a
potential problem.
The comerciants were only small firms that sold their
software at very low prices (something like 5 or 10 USD).
Some f the programs were shareware, some of them
freeware. Many companies tried to make a name for
themselves, but no one was really paying serious money
for a potential thread. This situation gave viruses like
stoned, cascade and Jerusalem a chance to propagate
without being discovered
Features
Antivirus software have the capability of searching an
entire file on a computer system. Instead of just looking
at a small section of an existing computer file, the
antivirus software thoroughly analyzes it. This prevents
viruses, spyware, and malware from hiding on your
computer system and compromising the data stored on
it. On-access scanning is another useful feature of
many antivirus software. The real time protection will
notify you of any irregular file activity that may indicate
your computer system has been infected. Virus
removal features are also included in antivirus software
to take them off your current computer system. With
frequent virus database updates, your antivirus
software will effectively keep track of the latest threats
that could harm your computer system.
Function
of Antivirus Software
Antivirus software is used to detect harmful viruses and
other spyware on a computer system. Hackers
frequently embed viruses on popular websites to infect
the computer of anyone that visits their website. You'll
need to locate a suitable type of antivirus software to
stop them from invading your computer system
unknowingly. With antivirus software, viruses and
spyware will be properly removed from your infected
computer system to protect your important data. Most
antivirus software programs can usefully identify
common and uncommon malware applications that have
been unwittingly installed on a computer system
What is a Computer Virus?
A virus is a computer code that has been designed to
"spread" and replicate itself by passing from computer to
computer. It is a piece of software that piggybacks on
legitimate programs like Excel, Word, WordPerfect,
Outlook, etc... When the program is run, the virus is
triggered to run too. Viruses can be destructive in nature,
and can cause a wide range of problems ranging from
operating system and file corruption to getting blamed for
email spamming. Some viruses are just annoying, but
cause no damage.
How do Computers get Viruses?
Viruses usually find their way into computers through
networks (local networks as well as the internet) by
taking advantage of unpatched security vulnerabilities
(holes) in software or by receiving an infected file via
email, download or shared disk. Depending on the type
of virus, it may be embedded in an Excel or Word file, or
may be designed to infect upon the opening of an email.
Once infected, a computer can literally infect thousands
of other computers by quietly spreading the virus without
the user even knowing about it.
How Anti Virus Software Works
Virus definition files tell the anti virus software what code
characteristics to look for while monitoring your computer. When a
certain file type or activity occurs that matches a characteristic, the
anti virus software blocks the execution of code and alerts you that
a virus has been found. The virus is then isolated and destroyed.
Hundreds of new computer viruses are introduced onto the internet
each week, and as antivirus software developers find these new
viruses, they create updates of the virus “definitions” in order to
provide the antivirus software with a way to identify and destroy
even the newest of viruses. It is extremely important to update your
antivirus software every day in order to make sure you have the
most current virus definitions available. Fortunately, most modern
anti virus software comes with an “automatic update” feature that
makes this task a one time “set it and forget it” kind of thing.
OTHER COMPUTER
PROTECTION METHODS
Antivirus Card
This method was used in the early 1990s
by DOS users and involves the installation
of an ISA interface card which takes over
the DOS interrupt and monitors the
WRITE operation
Network Firewall
Network firewalls prevent unknown programs and
Internet processes from accessing the system protected.
However, they are not antivirus systems as such and
thus make no attempt to identify or remove anything.
They may protect against infection from outside the
protected computer or LAN, and limit the activity of any
malicious software which is present by blocking incoming
or outgoing requests on certain TCP/IP ports. A firewall
is designed to deal with broader system threats that
come from network connections into the system and is
not an alternative to a virus protection system.
Online detection
Some antivirus vendors maintain websites
with free online scanning capability of the
entire computer, critical areas only, local
disks, folders or files. Examples include
Kaspersky Online Scanner and ESET
Online Scanner
Virus removal tools
A virus removal tool is software for removing specific
viruses from infected computers. Unlike complete
antivirus scanners, they are usually not intended to
detect and remove an extensive list of viruses; rather
they are designed to remove specific viruses, usually
more effectively than normal antivirus software.
Sometimes they are also designed to run in places that
regular antivirus software can't. This is useful in the case
of a severely infected computer. Examples of these tools
include McAfee Stinger and the Microsoft
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
USE MORE THAN ONE AT A
TIME
Although there are multiple types of antivirus
software to help keep your computer system
safe, you shouldn't use more than one at a time.
Having several antivirus software programs
installed on a single computer system will
expose it to vulnerabilities. A missed malicious
file could cause your entire computer system to
crash or prevent it from accessing a stable
Internet connection. Instead of tracking a virus
threat, each antivirus software will prevent the
other from correctly functioning
Why Should Update
Your Antivirus
If you don't update your antivirus software
to its most recent version, it will not
effectively protect your computer system.
Activate the feature that allows automatic
connection to the Internet for virus
database updates. This can usually be
done by accessing the "Settings" feature
within your antivirus software
