Why Antivirus May Not Be Enough

Reasons why an antivirus program is not enough

You no longer have to click to be infected.

A few years ago, all internet users had to do was avoid clicking on suspicious links or pages to avoid getting virus infections. Today, the threats have advanced to malware advertisements, where a legitimate site pulls malicious content from a fraud site. Once you visit the legitimate site, the malicious bug in the site will gain access to your computer.

Traditional antiviruses are slow in response to new threats.

According to research, traditional antivirus programs can only stop up to 50% of new zero-hour cyberattacks. Some of these programs will take hours before they can achieve the 90% level, with most of them requiring more than 24 hours to get all threats. This presents a long time for your system to go without protection.

You need to combine the use of antivirus and other safety protocols to ensure round the clock, fast protection against cyberattacks.

Why you need more than an antivirus software in modern-day

20 years ago, the computer was the only source of cyber-attacks. For this reason, antivirus programs were a reliable solution to protect yourself and your computer from cyberattacks. Kaspersky is one of good antivirus programs that would have offered all-rounded security in the past. Today, cybercriminals are using numerous other avenues to access user data, and antivirus alone is not enough.

Viruses and other malware programs are highly advanced today. It is easy for cybercriminals to use ransomware to lock you out of your computer, or even access and encrypt files in your network. These malicious programs can commandeer the device for digital coins in what is referred to as crypto-jacking.

Today, there are more internet-enabled devices than there has ever been. This gives cyber attackers multiple avenues to issue attacks. They have come up with malware programs that can attack any digital device, including smartphones, home routers, tablets, and personal computers. This includes items you may not consider as risk factors like gaming consoles, smart thermostats and even baby monitors.

In some cases, hackers have harnessed the Internet of Things (IoT) where they use the combines processing power for cyberattacks. In the last 4 years, there has been an increase in IoT attacks by at least 600%.

When using internet-enabled devices outside the house, cybercriminals can take advantage of open public Wi-Fi networks to launch attacks. With the right tools, a hacker can bypass all security protocols on a public network to gain access to your device activities. This puts at risk of hacking, identity theft and financial loss.

With all these threats, having an antivirus program alone cannot offer comprehensive security and protection.

Antivirus programs alone are a false sense of security.

If you are not cybersecurity savvy, it is easy to assume that an antivirus program is enough to keep you safe from cyberattacks. These days, attackers do not go after the firewall but the individual. They will send a malicious code on your email in a phishing scheme to lure you into clicking on it.

Every computer connected to the internet is a target to digital hackers. An antivirus program cannot do much to protect you from online predators since the threats are much more evolved. At least half the number of cyberattacks today involve the use of malware. These types of malicious programs are used for different types of attacks like credit card fraud, spreading span and accessing passwords.

Ransomware is one of the most used types of malware and was responsible for more than 300,000 attacks in 2017 in more than 150 countries. The affected were mostly people with antivirus programs installed but no other security measures in place.

What does this mean for antivirus users?

While it may seem like antivirus programs are unreliable, this is not the case. An antivirus program is still the best basic security method for any computer. However, you can boost the effectiveness of the antivirus program by upgrading your firewall and using other advanced security measures like VPN services and antimalware softwa

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