We have discussed a lot about antivirus and how it works in our recent post.
But we did not discuss one topic, i.e., can antivirus be a threat? Well, the
answer is yes and no. Here we will discuss some of the important points which
will let question your antivirus company.
- Antivirus fails to stop all malware as most of the anti-virus is signature-based. Especially they are unable to stop encrypted and targeted malware.
- We do not know if you have not noticed yet, but antivirus decreases the performance of the system they are running on.
- This can be a serious privacy and anonymity concern as they send scanned results periodically back to the server.
- Constant unknown data is sent to the antivirus company. As discussed above we do not know what the data is or can be.
- Some antiviruses break SSL/TLS encryption to check or monitor web traffic which can again be a privacy issue as breaking encryption can also help them to know user credentials like passwords.
- Most antivirus is closed source, we don't know how exactly they are running and what kind of tasks they are performing. Obliviously until or unless we have a whistle-blower :)
- Some antivirus might sell your data on the dark web (especially the free ones). Come on, think about it. They want to provide software for free which takes a ton of work and resources to handle.
- Antivirus updates can be used as Attack Vectors by hackers. Some antivirus update via HTTP so attackers can intercept the request or can send their own spoof request to update the antivirus but what you are doing is installing a virus or malware. Uh, an antivirus can also be used to install the virus. Sounds irritating, isn't it?
Antivirus can be risky but needed at the same time. Before choosing an antivirus makes sure to check its reputation in the market.
To read more on the below topic, CLICK HERE
- Free Antivirus
- What is Antivirus
- Best Antivirus Available
- Types of Online Antivirus
- Next Generation of Antivirus
We hope this helps. If any suggestions or doubts you can add a comment and
we will reply as soon as possible.
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