Do you use Gmail? If you do, you might have noticed a new addition to…

Encryption; why it should matter to you

Springtime for us means it’s time for none another than…spring cleaning! And if there is…

How to spring clean your PC!

Remember that time that you, channeling your inner diva, began to belt it out on…

The dangers of public WiFi

Chalk it up to the fact that homo sapiens have always had to find new…

Curiosity killed the computer

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that “adware” and “annoying” both start with the letter A, because…

Adware goes rogue

We have written a lot about ransomware in all different forms and incarnations here on…

Ransomware, Ransomware , Everywhere

We’re betting you love your smartphone. It’s okay if you do, because you’re in good…

The Banking Trojan in Your Pocket (or, Why Your Smartphone is Way Less Secure Than you Think it is)

Where were you in 2012? If you were on LinkedIn back then, there’s a good…

Have you Been Pwned in the LinkedIn Data Dump? Here is how to Tell!

Remember how your crazy old Aunt Sally stashed all her money in between mattresses because…

Lessons from the SWIFT Fiasco; Could you be Banking Safer ?

June is upon us and with it comes some of life’s sweet little pleasures –…

The Mega Hacks Cometh!

Invariably, if you use the internet a lot, you probably hear the term “The cloud”…

Are You a Closet-Cloud-Confusee? Understanding The Cloud and What it Means for Your Security

Betcha didn’t know it, but June is Internet Safety Month. You probably missed that section in…

June is Internet Safety Month &#8211; How Safe are Your Kids on Social Media?

So if you remember, about two weeks ago we told you about a huge string…

Mark Zuckerberg Gets a Lesson in Password Safety

Boom! Whizz! Bang! Typically, when you think of the Fourth of July, you think about…

The How to Liberate  Your Device From Intruders Guide for the Fourth of July

Wondering what your friend or co-worker is doing, staring at his or her phone, wandering…

Go, Pokemon Go! The Latest Craze that Could Fill your Device with Malware

So not only is Pokemon go the biggest craze ever (seemingly anyway), it also seems…

Privacy in the Age of Pokemon Go!

We are well into the summer and for a whole lot of people that means…

Sure, it's Not Your Fault; But They Got Your CC Info Anyway

We’re finally in the home stretch – In just a few days, school starts up…

8 Essential Back-to-School Cyber Security Tips for a Rockin&#039; (and secure) School Year

Happy National Online Learning Day! Wait, is that even a thing? Well, it is and…

Happy Online Learning Day! (Yup, it&#039;s Really a Thing!)

Here at Reason Software, we are excited to announce the release of Unchecky v1.0. This…

Unchecky v1.0 is Here! Interview with Michael Maltsev

Attention any and all persons weighing 400 pounds or more — Donald Trump thinks you…

Is Cyber Security Worth a Spotlight at the Debates?

Gather ‘round and we’ll tell you a tale (okay, a few tales) of mystery, murder,…

Creepy Tales from the Internet of Things Crypt

As morning hits around the globe, the world is waking up to find out that…

Lessons Learned From the Election Shocker &#8211; Don&#039;t Let Hacks Take You by Surprise

WhatsApp is a great way to keep in touch with far off friends and relatives…

Coming to a Smartphone Near You! The Latest Round of WhatsApp Scams

For better or for worse, the biggest shopping season of the year has arrived. Now…

The Ultimate &quot;How to Not Get Hacked While Shopping Online&quot;Guide

Oh, Thanksgiving Day. You probably get a warm and fuzzy feeling even before the sugar…

The (Rotten) Gift that Keeps on Giving

As if worrying that your Android might suddenly explode wasn’t enough to worry about. Researchers…

The Gooligan Android Breach &#8211; What you Need to Know

It’s that frosty time of year again, when the days are short and the deals…

16 for 2016 &#8211; Don&#039;t Fall for These Holiday Scams!!

“Um, honey, I think we have a problem. The computer is telling me that all…

Vulnerability of the year: Ransomware

2016 has come and gone and now we can look back at the year that…

A is for Apple, B is for BitCoin &#8211; The Most Noteworthy Data Breaches of 2016

It’s been a full fifteen minutes since you last checked your Facebook account (oh, the…

Fake News Flash &#8211; Think Before you Share!

Who doesn’t love a good fishing trip? Go ahead, picture the scene: it’s just you,…

One Phish, Two Phish, Red Phish&#8230;Spear Phish?

Mobile devices have come a long way. We mean a reeeallly long way. In but…

Simple Tips to Spotting Evil Apps

How does the idea of a smart city sound to you? The term might conjure…

The Hidden Dangers in Smart Cities + 5 Bonus Tips to Secure Your IoT Devices

You know the only saying “Nothing is certain but death and taxes”? Seems pretty clear…

5 Tricky Tax Season Scams and How to Avoid Them

When was the last time you went to your bank? If it feels like you’re…

5 Major FinTech Security Concerns You Need to Know About Before You Bank

In honor of Mother’s Day, we thought it would be fitting to take a look…

The amazing mothers of tech

By now, WannaCry is a household name. The ransomware that shocked the world on May…

WannaCry No More? You Better Start Patching

When is adware not just adware? When it’s also malware, of course! Fireball, a new…

Fireball &#8211; the explosive malware heard &#8216;Round the World&#8217;

Imagine this scene: You’re sitting at home one night, happily watching House of Cards on…

Attacks to critical Infrastructures: the next cyber front to worry about

“We pride ourselves on being a leader in managing and protecting data….We also are focused…

Think Your ID was Exposed in the Equifax Breach? Here&#039;s What to do About it

This post has been updated to reflect the current BitCoin to UD Dollar exchange rate,…

Everything You Need to Know About Cryptocurrency

In a recent post, we discussed the basics of cryptocurrency — what it is, how…

The Role of Cryptocurrency In Cyber Crime

Remember the Petya/NotPetya ransomware outbreak from back in June? That was the ransomware that was…

Bad Rabbit: The New Ransomware With Some Famous Cousins

“It’s the most hackable time of the year.”  Oh wait, that’s not how the song…

How to steer clear of Cyber Monday scams

As the holidays draw closer, chances are you’re busy making your gift list and checking…

What NOT to buy for the holidays

Another day, another oddly named malware attack. Last week, researchers from Kaspersky disclosed that they…

ZooPark and Watering Hole Attacks

So now, May 25th has come and gone. If you live in the EU, you’re…

Oh, the irony &#8211; phishers are using GDPR to scam you

Which is worse: getting hit with crypto mining malware or falling prey to ransomware? with…

Ransomware or crypto mining malware? Rakhni is both!

You may not have known, but September 15th is National Online Learning Day. Nowadays, it…

Watch out for online learning scams!

Veux-tu Virobot? For the non-francophones among us, what we’re asking is if you’ve heard about…

Virobot: are monster mash-ups the future of ransomware?

January 28th is International Data Privacy Day. If you’re wondering why data privacy needs its…

It&#8217;s Data Privacy Day: What does your camera know about you?

Today, cameras are everywhere — on our phones, our Alexas, baby monitors, desktops, laptops, home…

Webcam hacking &#8211; taking back what’s yours

In spring 2018, a powerful banking Trojan named BackSwap surfaced, targeting online banking users in…

Browser-based threats;  don’t Worry, we’ve got your back

Another day, another major hack. This time around, India-based outsourcing giant Wipro was hit with…

To Scan or Not to Scan; The Proactive Way to Protect Your PC

  Today is Mother’s Day, the day set aside to honor those special women, who…

The 5 Coolest Mother’s Day Tech Gifts You Can Find (and how to secure them!)

Reason is excited to launch Reason for Business, a powerful endpoint security protection solution for…

We Invite You to Join Reason for Business Beta

Cybersecurity breaches only make the headlines when they involve large entities like banks or tech…

Think SMBs Fall Under the Radar as Targets for Cyber Threats? Think Again.

The threat landscape is undeniably becoming more challenging and more menacing every day. It seems…

Reason Download Defender- It’s time to defend your downloads.

While spring cleaning may only come around once a year, PC cleaning needs to happen…

Should I Remove It? It’s cleaning time! How to declutter your PC.

6 tips for celebrating National Online Learning Day and keeping your data safe! Magnifying the…

To learn (online) or not to learn?

Next up on the ‘crazy meter’, and probably the ‘creepy meter’ as well, is the…

What happens when ‘ransomware’ meets ‘crazy’?

Recently, the cryptoblackmail scam, “ScamYourself”, has returned to the market – many usersworldwide have been…

Threat Analysis Report: Save Yourself Malware

The advent of the Internet and Internet-enabled technologies not only ushered in the era of…

Threat Intelligence; A Unifying Force of the Future.

Halloween: Famous SMB Cyber Attacks in Disguise. Halloween normally conjures up images of costumes and…

All Tricks and No Treats.

Looking for another reason to put on your party hat? Well, we’ve got one: International…

International Internet Day: A Reminder about Security Online.

Before launching into a discussion on how an antivirus detects malware, it’s important to first…

How does an antivirus detect malware?

Start by Installing Reason Cybersecurity – Get 70% Off Today! Think about this for a minute:…

How to Keep Your Business Safe on Cyber Monday.

Hacking has evolved into a billion-dollar growth business, making hackers relentless in their pursuit to…

Can Antivirus Programs Stop Hackers?

Antivirus programs were initially created to distinguish and expel PC infections. Be that as it…

What is antivirus software and how can it protect you?

Get 70% Off Reason Cybersecurity on Black Friday and Keep Your Business out of the…

Cyber attacks and Black Friday: It only takes one to put you on the red

Windows 10, according to theinquirer.net, is a particularly appealing target for hackers and virus writers…

Which Antivirus is Best for Window 10?

I think we can all agree that pups, the friendly, loyal, man’s-best-friend kind are cute…

Unwanted Software Blockers: Why Small Businesses Need Them.

Hackers increasingly target SMBs. What should businesses expect in 2020?

It’s here, 2020, the start of not just a new year, but a new decade…

Small business growth and guardianship in 2020: staying safe from hackers

The first question people usually ask about antivirus (AV) software, is ‘do I really need…

How do you know what antivirus to use?

According to a recent report from statista.com, an online statistics portal, 74% of Americans own…

Which antivirus is best for a Windows 10 laptop?

While there is no quick way to answer which antivirus is better, there are at…

Which antivirus is better?

If a salesperson at a clothing store asked you if you needed any help and…

Browser or big brother? ReasonLab’s secure browsing premium feature protects your business

To answer the question, ‘can antivirus software remove viruses’, we should first examine what antivirus…

Can Antivirus Remove Virus?

The term ‘antivirus’ is a bit of a misnomer today, since today’s antivirus software must…

why antivirus is needed?

The best protection against viruses and malware is reliable, up-to-date, antivirus software. Fortunately, there are…

Which antivirus should I use?

Learning about antivirus programs and how antivirus programs protect your computer is a good first…

How antivirus programs protect your computer

Hackers are always looking for security holes so that they can install malware on your…

Which Antivirus is Best for Laptops?

If you perform a Google search to find out which antivirus is good, the search…

Which antivirus is good?

Windows 10 was first launched in 2015, but it wasn’t until January 2018 that it…

Which Antivirus is Best for Windows 7

Today, Windows 10 comes with Windows Defender, a native, comprehensive antivirus solution already integrated into…

What antivirus software comes with Windows 10?

It’s been over 40 years since the Creeper computer virus, made its appearance, and although…

Is an antivirus necessary?

If Windows is your computer operating system, you’re in good company; according to statista.com, Windows…

Which is the best antivirus for Windows?

We hear a lot about the importance of having antivirus software on our computers, but…

How Does Antivirus Software Work?

According to cybercrime statistics from cpomagazine.com and websitehostingrating.com respectively, cybercrimes account for trillions of dollars…

Why is antivirus software important?

If you’re alarmed by all the news reports about malware attacks and the damage they…

To combat the continuously evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats, antivirus software has been changing and…

How Antivirus Software Works

We hear the terms ‘antivirus’ and ‘antimalware’ bandied about so much it’s easy to understand…

Can antivirus detect malware?

The alarming proliferation of malware and cyber attacks, reported almost daily in the news, has…

What antivirus do I need?

So you’ve finally decided on the antivirus (AV) software you want to install and are…

Will antivirus software remove existing viruses?

“Reaper”, the first antivirus software, was created in response to “Creeper” the first computer virus,…

Are antivirus programs worth it?

Antivirus, aka anti-virus, aka anti-malware, aka security software, has been around since 1971, and yes,…

What do antivirus do?

Cybercrime is a global phenomenon and India has been just as affected by it as…

Which antivirus is best for PCs in India

Cybercrime is on the rise; it is becoming increasingly ubiquitous and menacing. From private individuals,…

Which antivirus should I buy?

It’s here, 2020, the start of not just a new year, but a new decade as well. Happily for small businesses, 2020 is off to a good start with small-business owner optimism strong and plenty of reasons to support that optimism. Opening and operating a small business is more affordable than ever, and in the last ten years we have seen progress, innovation and transformation across a range of industries from energy and media to health, manufacturing, entertainment, technology, and more. Under the technology sector, the antivirus industry alone has experienced its own mammoth growth and transformation, particularly in the area of business protection where we’ve seen great success in defending businesses against hackers and malware. Today, most AV software achieve between a 99.9%-100% online protection rate. Another reason for businesses to be optimistic!

![](https://cms.reasonlabs.com/cdn/shutterstock_190723196-e1578408774697.jpg)

Undoubtedly, the transformation of antivirus technology was compelled by the avalanche of cyber attacks threatening businesses and individuals alike. But antivirus providers have been fighting back and providing the type of cyber defense that consumers and businesses need to survive these threats. Imagine a baseball pitching machine pitching different types of threats out onto the cyber-threat field with antivirus software batting them back each time they appeared. Maybe a bit of a stretch of the imagination, but you get the point – that’s basically what the [best antivirus software for small businesses](https://www.reasonsecurity.com/reason-for-businesses) do. They keep hackers away from your business’ data and malware off your systems. Go antivirus!

Of course, businesses need to do their part too by prioritizing their business protection. Small businesses especially need to implement defensive measures to safeguard their businesses as they are not only a favorite target of hackers (58% of cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses), but they also rarely have the resources needed to recover from a cyber attack (60% of small businesses that were attacked by hackers had to shut down). No need to panic, though; there are potent, effective and reliable security measures that businesses can implement to protect their data, their systems, and let’s face it, the survival of their business. The best part is that once these measures are implemented, business owners and managers are then free to focus on business matters near and dear to their heart… like business growth, perhaps?

So what are these measures?
---------------------------

**Educate/train employees** – It’s already well-established that cyber awareness amongst employees is a significant aspect of a business’ cybersecurity, and conversely, a lack of awareness can put a business at risk. Educating and training employees includes showing them how to identify the types of cyber threats they’re most likely to face and what procedures to follow when they suspect an attack has occurred.

**Install antivirus software** – Possibly the most critical measure for defending a business against hackers and cyber attacks, however, is installing antivirus software (AV). Antivirus software is the sentry at the gate to your computer and data, preventing malicious software from downloading onto your systems and keeping hackers at bay. With the right AV, your business’ privacy and sensitive business information will be protected, so that you are able to conduct your business in a way that facilitates its growth without fear of being hacked. This makes the decision to find and install business antivirus software not just a wise business decision to make, but an easy one too.

**Protect your endpoints** – Endpoints are remote computing devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, servers, and workstations, that connect to a network and communicate back and forth across that network. They can also represent substantial vulnerabilities that cybercriminals try to exploit in order to gain access to your computers and data. To keep your business safe, you must defend it with AV software that offers powerful endpoint protection.

**Use HTTPS Protocol instead of HTTP** – HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure Socket Layer, but more important than what it stands for is what it provides, which is greater security than HTTP protocol. Secure websites display a little padlock symbol in the browser, indicating that they use HTTPS protocol and that any data sent to or received from that website is encrypted and hence secure. Business pro tip: Using HTTPS protocol not only makes your business more secure, it can also help your Google ranking because Google factors in HTTPS protocol in its search algorithm.

![](https://cms.reasonlabs.com/cdn/shutterstock_1097913926-e1578409512793.jpg)

**Keep your software up-to-date** – Many of the most harmful cyber attacks against small businesses take advantage of software vulnerabilities or security holes. Software updates provide patches to these security holes so that hackers can’t exploit them. In addition, one of the technologies that modern antivirus software use requires an extensive database of virus signatures. This database gets updated when new viruses are discovered. If your antivirus software isn’t regularly or automatically updated, it will not be using the most current database.

**Enforce safe password best practices** – Many businesses are too lax in the area of password usage and as a result, hackers often use brute force techniques to guess passwords that they can then use to access computers. Simple passwords, commonly used passwords, passwords that are too short, and multiple-use passwords are all examples of poor password practices that enable cyber intruders to gain unauthorized access to systems and devices. Following password best practices such as using passphrases instead of just passwords, not sharing passwords and not reusing passwords for different accounts, are critical to business security.

**Don’t lose your business mojo**  
Don’t let some cyber criminal steal your business mojo and all you’ve worked for to build your company. As a small business owner, you should be able to devote all the business talent, expertise, experience, and time at your disposal to improving and growing your business; you should not have to use these valuable resources towards fending of hackers and malware. That job belongs to good cyber hygiene and a powerful endpoint security solution.

To answer the question, ‘can antivirus software remove viruses’, we should first examine what antivirus software is, as well as its function. A short answer to this inquiry is that antivirus software is a program designed to prevent, detect, and remove, yes remove, different types of malware including viruses, which are also a type of malware. The more complete answer, however, explains how these objectives are achieved. Let’s take a look:

**Prevention** – Antivirus software (AV) works by monitoring your computer for potential threats in real-time to guard against vulnerabilities as they happen. This allows the AV software to automatically quarantine suspected malware before it damages your data and PC. Most AV software will notify you when it quarantines a potential threat. 

**Detection** – Today’s antivirus software rely on several detection methods. The most widely used method is signature-based detection. Signature-based detection uses a database of stored virus signatures and the AV software compares those signatures to the signatures of files and programs on the user’s PC. Virus signatures are unique strings of data that are characteristic of known malware, so when the AV scans a user’s PC and detects one of these signatures, the file or program with the malware signature is deemed a threat. Because signature-based detection relies on a database of virus signatures, the success of this detection process requires that the signature database be extensive and regularly updated so that it contains the latest signatures. In addition, the AV software itself must be regularly updated to make sure it is always using the latest signature database. Signature-based detection, however, cannot detect unknown and emerging threats, which is why AV software today employ several malware detection methods. One such method is behavior-based detection, which analyzes an object’s behavior for suspicious or anomalous activities or behaviors. Another method is heuristic-based detection, which uses rules or algorithms to search for commands that might indicate malicious intent. Behavior-based and heuristics-based detection methods complement the signature-based method because together, they make it possible for the AV software to detect known malware as well as malware that hasn’t yet been discovered.

**Removal** – Many antivirus software programs will remove malware automatically without notifying the user, while other programs will notify users about a threat and ask them if they want to remove or quarantine the file with the malicious code. Note, however, that while some malware are quickly dispensed with by AV software, there are some malware infections, such as rootkits, that require more effort and are more complicated to remove. For this reason, subscription-based AV software, which typically has more advanced antivirus features than free versions, is often recommended for more comprehensive protection.

![](https://cms.reasonlabs.com/cdn/shutterstock_1446439583-1024x1024.jpg)

Our Blog

Small business growth and guardianship in 2020: staying safe from hackers

Can Antivirus Remove Virus?

Can antivirus detect malware?

Will antivirus software remove existing viruses?