Antivirus

Antivirus↗ software detects, blocks, quarantines, or removes known malicious programs. It scans the files and running processes on your device to catch threats, and for many years was the core tool of endpoint↗ security.

Detection methods have evolved. The traditional approach is signature-based: files are compared against a database of known malware↗ "fingerprints," so keeping that database current is essential. Modern tools add heuristic and behavioral analysis on top of that, letting them catch malware they have never seen before by spotting suspicious behavior, such as unauthorized changes to system files.

Antivirus is an important layer, but not sufficient on its own, it has real limits against phishing↗, social engineering↗, and newer fileless threats. It should be treated as one part of a layered defense that also includes an up-to-date operating system, strong passwords, multi-factor authentication↗, regular backups, and careful browsing habits. In enterprise environments, antivirus has largely been superseded by more advanced EDR/XDR tools.