Let’s get straight to the point. First, it would help if you had antivirus software in 2022. No matter how safe you think your cyber security is, hackers and cyber criminals are constantly finding innovative ways to infiltrate your security. So, we know you need antivirus software, and below, Neuways wants to explain what antivirus software is and why choosing the right one is essential to drive your business forwards.
What is antivirus software?
Antivirus software, in simple terms, is a data security utility installed into your computer system. The goal of this is to protect your network from viruses, spyware, malware, and the other types of cyber criminal attacks mentioned here.
Cyber security companies are constantly updating their antivirus software to protect your business from continually evolving cyber threats. At Neuways, we believe in helping you choose the best antivirus software for your business.
Not having antivirus software is like owning a piece of land and not putting a lock on the gate to keep intruders out. You may as well hold a website but just let hackers and cyber criminals gain all your sensitive data by sending them an email with all the details.
So, let’s talk about how a good antivirus software benefits your business.
1) Why do you need good antivirus software?
You need good antivirus software to ensure business efficiency. If your network is the victim of a cyber hack, it can slow down your business. There is the potential to lose plenty of data which can cause severe issues for your company, but it can affect how your employees work.
There is the potential to slow down your computer. This doesn’t sound that bad. But in truth, not only has a virus infiltrated your network, but it can cause a lot of frustration for the users. For example, if the computer is not moving along nicely, an employee can become exasperated. That means they are less likely to work efficiently, and progress would be slow. In worse news, this would make it easier for cyber criminals to gain confidential data.
2) A suitable antivirus software blocks ads and spam
Good antivirus software will reduce the chances of a cyber criminal infiltrating your system. Still, it also helps to block pop-up ads and display spam that is irritating and potentially dangerous. Good software will help you block harmful ads to gain direct access to your network.
It is surprising that a large proportion of viruses use pop up ads and displays to infiltrate your network. However, you can get ahead of the potential hackers and block the viruses before they’re even aware your network exists with the right software.
3) Efficient software is not limited to one PC
Everybody has had a negative experience with a memory stick. If you haven’t, you’re probably one terrible experience away! But anyway, we’re not going to spend time talking about how hard it can be to remove a USB from a device. That’s enough of a job in itself. This time, we are talking about transferring your data from one device to another by using that removable device. It is easy to think that just because your memory stick is not in the machine, the data is not accessible.
However, there is a twist. If you have ever connected a ‘work USB’ or a friend’s USB to your computer, you might not have realised that there is a chance that the computer slowed down. Of course, you’d notice a crash, but we talked about a subtle difference. It could be that you have just transmitted a virus into your device via USB.
That doesn’t mean you should stop using USBs. A good antivirus software operates by scanning removable devices, meaning the likelihood of a virus being transmitted is minimal.
4) The better antivirus detectors also can detect malware
As we’ve mentioned throughout the article, cyber criminals and hackers are getting more innovative in the way they are trying to infiltrate company networks.
That’s why IT security teams and other managers need to be aware of what could harm the business from a cyber security sense. Of course, nasty viruses are still incredibly efficient at capturing our data. However, as we mentioned in our recent article, malware is also a common way that hackers use to hack our networks.
If you don’t have an efficient and tight security system, malware can gain access to your network without knowing about it. For example, it can record passwords and data without your employee knowing it. If they manage to gain access to this, malware can provide cyber criminals with all the data they need to cause damage to your business.
Additionally, because malware can creep into your network undetected, the hackers can wait for the right moment to strike. That’s why it is essential to strengthen your network security. And, of course, Neuways can help your business with its security.
5) The best antivirus systems update automatically
Nowadays, the best antivirus systems are constantly updating themselves. This is because experts are finding new ways each day and week that hackers and cyber criminals are using to hack into business networks. It can be a manual slog, and employees may find it irritating to update their devices constantly. There is perhaps nothing more frustrating than seeing your PC or laptop update while waiting for a new security update or patch to install. However, this doesn’t have to be a chore. Antivirus software can now update automatically. However, some users would still prefer to do this manually to keep track of the updates.
Either way, failing to apply these updates is equivalent to not using any antivirus security or network security! Hackers (both ethical and malicious) find exploits every other day – and companies apply these updates to keep up with the exploits.
