Antivirus Protection

In the early 2000s, the internet was a far less crowded place, but it was also a Wild West of viruses, worms, and Trojans. Back then, antivirus software was your trusty sheriff, safeguarding your system against attacks that could wipe out data or bring productivity to a grinding halt. Fast forward to 2024, and the question arises: is antivirus still necessary, or has it been outpaced by built-in tools like Windows Defender and advanced security measures?

Are you looking for the top cyber security blogs, and do you want to stay up-to-date and informed on the latest threats? Do you want to find blogs that can help to elevate your career?

In a world where cyber threats are everywhere, security goes beyond firewalls and anti-viruses. Blogs are a great way to stay informed and can also help hone the skills needed in cyber security.

This article breaks down the best cyber security blogs into six categories, presenting you with options for skills development and education, news, how-to’s, threat intelligence, digital rights and regulations, and emerging tech.

The internet is full of outdated cybersecurity advice that just won’t die but should, like “public WiFi is unsafe” and “you should change your passwords regularly.” For the more pedantic in the crowd, yes, these pieces of “advice” do have tiny grains of truth under the layers of logical fallacies – public WiFi does come with some small risks (mostly in the privacy department, for the average individual) and changing your passwords regularly can have some potential benefits (mostly for companies). But generally speaking these are outdated pieces of advice from a different era. I’ve written before about how technology changes and those idioms are prime examples: back before the nearly-ubiquitous adoption of TLS, public WiFi presented considerably more risks. But the times have changed and that advice is no longer applicable. So on that note: let’s talk about antivirus.

If you’re like me, you’ve had more than your fair share of Windows computers that come bloated with all kinds of crap you didn’t ask for and will absolutely never use – I’m looking at you, OneDrive and Candy Crush. Antivirus is a frequent offender. Sometimes it’s AVG, sometimes it’s McAfee, sometimes it’s someone else, but there’s always a universal constant: nobody really uses it. Even if you do believe in antivirus, there’s almost always a different service you’d rather use so the defaults end up just sitting there, cluttering up your device and swindling the less tech savvy out of their money for an – at best – inferior product.

Antiviruses in 2024 are no longer just programs for catching trojans. They became multi-layered protection of devices and information that is stored on them.

• Protection: the antivirus can save from dangerous sites, files, and phishing, protect your personal data that on the Internet, emails, and your devices when you use Wi-Fi in public.
• A security advisor: it tells you which programs or apps are suspicious or waste too many resources.
• VPN and browser protection: the antivirus can help you reach sites that are not available in your region, and protect your browsers from unwanted ads;
• Parential control: antiviruses can block certain content from kids view as well as protect them from aggressive websites;

Antiviruses vertical in affiliate marketing

Antiviruses is one of the oldest and evergreen verticals in affiliate marketing. It seems that all advertisers who make big money in affiliate marketing now have started with Antivirus affiliate program.

The peculiarity of the antivirus vertical is that its offers are popular all year round, so there is no seasonality for them. It covers various devices: there can be offers for mobile and desktop with different OS.

What concerns payments? They range from $1 to $100, or even higher. As a rule, such offers do not restrict the type of traffic. So anyone can choose which offer to try with which payout and how much to spend on traffic to get a positive ROI.

The more I think about those dark days, the more I realize how much antivirus seems to be one of those outdated zombies. I never see YouTubers shilling antivirus, and the only time I see it pop up online is when people are making memes about it. In fact, I’m fairly sure we did use some of those inferior products back when I was in high school on the family computer and I’m pretty sure that still never stopped me from putting viruses on there like crazy because I was a stupid teenager who didn’t know how to be safe online. I also never read any stories about ransomware or hacks that could’ve been prevented if only the company in question had updated their Norton subscription. So that begs the question: is antivirus even relevant anymore?

How does antivirus work?

Scanning, removing, preventing – these are the 3 main stages of how an antivirus works.

Once you install an AV, it scans every email, app, and file. During this process, it compares the results with its database. If something is off, the antivirus marks it as malware.

Then, the AV either quarantines the malicious files or entirely obliterates them. And while all that is happening, a reliable antivirus runs smoothly in the background, preventing intruders from harming your devices and stealing your data.

According to Datto’s global research, Windows device users should be the most concerned about their safety. Around 91% of gadgets that use this OS have been targeted by ransomware attacks.

Nevertheless, none of the OS are entirely immune to various online perils. Whether using a Mac, Windows, or Android device, it’s better to be safe than sorry and use an AV. That way, you won’t put yourself, your devices, or your precious data at risk.

How to choose the best Windows Antivirus?

There are loads of antivirus apps that claim to be the best for Windows OS users. However, you shouldn’t trust every claim they make. Therefore, before choosing an AV, we suggest looking at the most important aspects that will help you pick a trustworthy antivirus:

• Reputation. To find out whether an antivirus is truly worth it, check out Reddit threads, forums, and review sites. They gladly share their experiences with the AVs, so you’ll get a better understanding of how good the antivirus is.
• Effectiveness. Another thing you need to look at is how well the AV performs when detecting and eliminating malware. For that, you should check out independent testing sites like av-test.org or selabs.uk.
• Privacy. Don’t forget to look at your potential provider’s privacy policy. Some AVs are notorious for collecting users’ data and later selling it to data brokers.
• Ease of use. An antivirus should provide an intuitive interface and easy configuration settings. Yet again, you can depend on Reddit threads or test it out yourself if an AV has a free trial period or a free version.
• Features. At the very least, the antivirus should provide real-time scanning, firewall protection, email filtering, and behavioral analysis. Moreover, some providers might include useful extras, like password managers, VPNs, ad blockers, etc.

Malware Detection and Removal: This is the core function of any antivirus. Look for software with a high detection rate for both known and emerging threats.

Real-Time Protection: Ensures continuous protection by scanning files and websites in real time as you use your computer.

Firewall: Acts as a barrier between your computer and the internet, blocking unauthorized access and malicious traffic.

Web Protection: Safeguards you from phishing websites and malicious downloads.

Performance Impact: Ideally, the software should have minimal impact on your system’s performance.

User-Friendliness: An intuitive interface and easy navigation are crucial, especially for non-technical users.

Additional Features: Some antivirus software offers extra features like VPN, password manager, parental controls, or system optimization tools.

Price: Consider your budget and compare the value offered by different solutions.

Top Antivirus Software for 2024:

Based on the above criteria, here are some of the best antivirus software options in 2024:

Bitdefender: Consistently ranked high for its excellent malware detection rates, low system impact, and comprehensive features, including a VPN, password manager, and webcam protection.

Norton 360: Another top contender, known for its robust protection, extensive features like parental controls and dark web monitoring, and a generous number of device licenses.

Kaspersky: Offers powerful malware detection, real-time protection, and additional features like a secure browser and anti-theft tools. Known for its strong performance but may have a slightly steeper learning curve.

McAfee: Provides comprehensive protection with a user-friendly interface, and offers bonus features like a file shredder and performance optimization tools. However, it can be more resource-intensive than some competitors.

ESET: Known for its lightweight design and minimal performance impact. Offers reliable malware protection, a secure browser, and an anti-theft feature.

So for the average user who (according to me) doesn’t need antivirus, what do I recommend instead?

1. Keep everything updated. Make sure you enable automatic updates wherever possible, and keep everything updated – not just the device itself but the apps, too.
2. Remove things you don’t need. If there are programs you don’t use on your device – whether bloatware that came with it or stuff you simply stopped using – be sure to remove them. Every app and program could have a vulnerability in it, and as soon as cybercriminals find that vulnerability you’re now at risk. Keeping things updated helps, but if it’s a program you don’t use then the better solution is to simply remove it. They can’t exploit something that was never on your device to begin with.
3. Use wisely. As I said earlier, the top two ways I see people get malware is by not updating (which I addressed first) or by getting phished in some way. Even as an individual, this remains true. Unless you’re in some sort of high-value role (like being a CEO or working on an important government project) most of these efforts will usually be relatively easy to spot and avoid. This means implementing practices in your life like only using trusted, official websites for online purchases or downloading software and not downloading attachments or clicking links in email unless you were expecting it and verified that it is indeed legitimate. Of course, even official, reputable sites can sometimes be compromised, so for maximum protection I of course recommend checking out some of the pages on my website, but doing some basic due diligence will, in most situations, protect you from the lowest of low-hanging fruit.
4. If you must… If you’ve read all this and still decided that antivirus software is right for you, be sure to pick one wisely. Objective-See is a non-profit who specializes in open source security software for Mac devices, and iVerify is my recommendation for iPhones. For Android, the Divested Computing Group (the makers of DivestOS) have released Hypatia, a malware scanner which has since been added by default to CalyxOS. For Windows there’s no clear winner I’ve been made aware of from a highly trusted organization, however Malwarebytes offers a free tool that will scan and remove malware for you on demand (but not 24/7 in realtime). If you’re a Linux user, really the only option is Clam AV, which is unfortunately extremely limited compared to some of the more robust offerings on other devices, but there are a number of other actions Linux users can take to help defend their system on top of this.

As we briefly mentioned, a reliable antivirus can protect your device from online dangers. There are a few most common ones. Below, you’ll find them and what threat they pose:

• Viruses: These malicious programs multiply and spread from one computer to another. Viruses can attach themselves to programs and files, damage the system, and let other malware in.
• Malvertising: Cybercriminals can inject malicious code into online advertisements. These compromised ads can infect users’ devices or redirect them to dangerous websites without their knowledge or consent.
• Ransomware: Malicious actors use this tactic to lock up your data and demand a ransom, usually in cryptocurrency, in exchange for the decryption key.
• Phishing attack: You might receive fake emails and messages or be redirected to websites asking for information. That way, cybercriminals want to get access to your usernames, passwords, and financial data.
• Drive by downloads: You might stumble across malicious sites that automatically download unwanted files onto your device. The software then can wreak havoc on your computer or smartphone.
• Password attacks: Malicious actors can use brute-force attacks (repeatedly trying different combinations), keylogging (recording keystrokes), or credential stuffing (using known usernames and passwords obtained from other breaches) to steal your information.