October 18th, 2023
Author: Simon Schaffer
How Does Antivirus Software Identify Potential Viruses?
When choosing an antivirus program for your business or home, you should consider more than the rate of detection of a product in controlled tests. You must also be sure it can effectively detect new viruses and other malware. The virus writers are always trying to find ways to defeat antivirus software. They create viruses that can disable them, hide from detection techniques, or get around the anti-virus software itself.
One of the first types of antivirus softwares compared the files received by devices to their database of malware that they have identified. This is a form of signature detection and works very well for older malware, but the issue is that virus creators could make up new signatures for new varieties of viruses at any time so the antivirus protection will always be in the process of catching up.
Modern versions of antivirus software utilize Heuristic detection to detect possible threats. Rather than looking for exact matches, heuristics evaluate the patterns of files and programs to see if they match those of known malware. This method has been enhanced with a method known as behavior-based detection which examines how the program or file performs to to determine if it is malicious.
Certain viruses try to deter antivirus programs by hiding from detection, preventing access to the update system of antivirus programs, or corrupting library or code files that a virus scanner needs to function. More sophisticated viruses can attack the antivirus program itself by directly altering or deactivating components of it. These kinds of viruses are becoming more widespread and often come with features such as the worm component, which spreads from computer to computer.
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