A quality antivirus program will stop malware infections and remove threats that exist or attacks on individual computer devices, networks or entire IT systems. The programs scan websites, files, installed software and user data to search for known malware types They also track day-to-day program behavior to detect potential threats and alert the user.
Most antivirus products offer a variety of scanning options such as scheduled, on-access and quick scans. On-access scans look for malware in directories of the operating system, the common file areas and other common places upon starting. Scheduled scans allow you to set your daily schedule, a week-long schedule or a monthly schedule to run a complete system scan at a specific time. Quick scans are typically a short amount of time and will examine commonly used areas of your computer like temporary files, the operating system directory, or memory.
Some programs use heuristics in order to detect malware, searching for similar tendencies and patterns. This is a more sophisticated type of virus detection than signature-based detection, and can detect malware that other programs miss. These advanced forms of antivirus detection may not work as well for small businesses, as they are often prone to false positives–identifying secure parts of files and programs as potentially harmful.
Hackers are targeting businesses more frequently as the world of business is becoming more interconnected. They are doing this to obtain information about consumers, or to gain a name through hacktivism. This is when hackers disrupt professional systems to achieve social or political goals. Every business should have anti-virus security in place to safeguard them from cyberattacks.