What is Antivirus Software?

Antivirus Software

Antivirus software is a program designed to detect, prevent, and remove malicious software, such as viruses, worms, and trojans, from computers and networks.

Modern antivirus tools often include additional features like malware detection, real-time scanning, email protection, and even phishing detection. They use signature-based detection (matching known patterns of malicious code) and heuristic analysis (behavioral analysis) to identify threats.

Despite its name, antivirus software defends against a wide range of cyber threats beyond just traditional viruses.