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**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)

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We hear the terms ‘antivirus’ and ‘antimalware’ bandied about so much it’s easy to understand why we confuse their meaning and what they actually do. “Can antivirus detect malware?” is, in fact, a very common question because of this confusion. The short answer to that question is ‘yes’, antivirus can detect malware. The complete answer, however, is a little more complex, starting with the origin of these cyber terms.

**Computer viruses, malware, antivirus, and antimalware**

The term ‘computer virus’ was coined in the early 1980s because the first types of cyberattacks mimicked biological viruses in that they spread from computer to computer in the same way that biological viruses spread from person to person. Antivirus software was developed, and named accordingly, to respond and defend against computer viruses.

Fast forward a few years later, and we have the term ‘malware’, a shortcut for ‘malicious’ and ‘software’. ‘Malware’ became common ‘cyberspeak’ due to all the new and emerging types of cyber threats, in addition to viruses, that were continuously appearing on the cyber landscape. Hence, ‘malware’ refers to all types of cyber threats, including but not limited to viruses. In other words, viruses are just one type of malware, but there are many other types such as Trojans, worms, ransomware, spyware, and more.

![](https://cms.reasonlabs.com/cdn/shutterstock_1022834998.jpg)

**So what does all this mean?**  
As the number of malware types grew, the need for software that could defend against all types of malware grew too; we needed to be able to detect malware, not just viruses. Nevertheless, the term antivirus had already gone mainstream, so the name stuck, even though modern antivirus software does detect all types of malware. They do this using three methods: a database of virus signatures, behavioral detection and rule-based detection e.g., heuristics detection. The first method is used for scanning your files. Antivirus software compares the signatures of the files on your system to the virus signatures in the signature database to see if any signatures match. If they do, a virus has been detected. This method works well for detecting known malware. The second two methods are needed to detect unknown malware and do not rely on a signature database. Behavioral detection looks for irregular behaviors in files while rule-based detection relies on a defined set of rules to look for irregular commands. In this way, behavioral and rule-based detection can detect new and emerging malware that do not yet have their malware signatures in the signature database.

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Can Antivirus Remove Virus?

Can antivirus detect malware?

What antivirus do I need?

How antivirus programs protect your computer