The purpose of antivirus (AV) software is to detect, neutralize or eradicate malware (malicious software).

AV software not only will identify and destroy the computer virus, but it’s also designed to fight off other kinds of threats such as phishing attacks, worms, Trojan horses, rootkits and more.

How does AV software work?

• It will first scan (either on automatic timer that the user selects or manual) the computer’s files to seek out any viruses that fit the description that’s in a virus dictionary.
• Using a method called heuristic analysis, it will also try to detect suspicious activity from any program that might seem to be infected.

Antivirus programs come in different flavors, but the common denominator is that they seek out viruses and other malware, and neutralize them.

The computer’s hard drive and external drives are also included in the scanning process.

What’s really important is that you make sure that your AV software is set for automatic updates—and on a daily basis at that—so that any new viruses or malware can be quickly pounced upon and rendered disabled.

Cybercrimes are more prevalent than ever, says the McAfee Threat Report. Check out some findings:

• Fairly recently (first quarter of 2013) was a time that was the most active, ever, for the entire gamut of malicious software generation.
• More than 14 million new samples were identified by McAfee.
• Malware is evolving, becoming savvier. An example is the Zeus malware that gets spread when the user unintentionally downloads it (from being tricked into doing so), or, when the user opens an attachment in an e-mail, not knowing it’s poised to infect his computer. This malware is smart because it evades anti-spam software by presenting as graphics instead of text in the e-mails.
• Every month means about six million new botnet infections.
• Between the first and second halves of 2013, new phishing websites doubled in number.
• Sixty percent of the leading Google search terms returned malicious sites just in the first 100 search results alone.

The key is simply to have antivirus installed, let it run its updates automatically and pay for the annual license. As long as you have it, it will prevent most infections.