Anti-Malware Software Review

Malware is short for malicious software. Malware is designed by criminals to access your computer without your knowledge. Typically, cybercriminals create malware to gain access to sensitive data like passwords and credit card numbers. Oftentimes, malware will hijack your computer and use it to spam other users or perpetuate phishing schemes.

When you consider that cybercriminals are trying to steal money by illegally accessing your computer, it makes sense that their malware is very sophisticated. The internet is a veritable Petri dish of malicious software searching for weaknesses and vulnerabilities on connected PCs. Viruses, worms, backdoors, Trojans, keyloggers, rootkits, spyware and adware all count themselves among the cybercriminal’s tools. Going without antivirus protection puts you at the mercy of cybercriminals the world over.

Effective anti-malware software blocks would-be criminals in their tracks and prevents them from accessing your PC. Leading antivirus developers institute high tech measures to identify and disable malware, regardless of its complexity, purpose or provenance. When surfing today’s increasingly dangerous internet, an effective means of combating malware is not optional. You'll find additional resources and articles on malware software at our learning center. For in-depth information on the leading solutions for your home or business PC, start with our reviews of BitDefender Antivirus, Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and Norton Antivirus.

Anti-Malware Software: What to Look For

When you consider that malicious software is most typically designed to commit fraud or facilitate identity theft, the importance of good security measures is self evident. To help you stay ahead of the cybercriminals, we tested and evaluated the most reputable and effective anti-malware software solutions on the market. Software with comprehensive protection measures, proven detection rates, effective malware removal tools and solid customer support rank highest with our reviewers. We also prefer software that will be easy-to-use, regardless of a user’s technical knowledge.

We rank anti-malware software according to the following criteria:

Malware Protection
Good anti-malware software features a comprehensive set of security measures designed to prevent malware from ever accessing your hard drive. The best security solutions feature proactive technology that scans all traffic to and from your computer for threats. When it comes to malicious software, prevention is always the best approach to PC security.

Malware Detection
Many free antivirus programs feature high detection rates for known malware signatures collected in databases, but for truly impregnable security measures, signature-based threat detection should be combined with advanced heuristic scanning technology. Given that a substantial number of threats appear and proliferate before antivirus software can document and include them in their databases, we consider a program’s ability to identify and flag both catalogued malware and so-called “zero-hour” threats a critical component of a security package’s overall worth.

Malware Removal
Even the most effective antivirus software cannot stop 100% of malware attacks. Moreover, an infected machine can be a danger to your personal and professional data. We rank software with effective malware removal tools toward the top of our list. Whether cleaning out a severely infected workstation PC or rooting out keyloggers designed to steal credit card numbers and passwords, malware removal utilities are mandatory features on good security software.

Ease of Use
The most effective toolset out there is of little use if you can’t figure out how to use it. We give higher scores to products that are accessible to both tech savvy users and PC amateurs. Software with a straightforward user interface that still allows for tweaking and customization gets higher scores in our software reviews. We think keeping a PC safe from harmful code should be a hassle-free process.

Support and Documentation
Malware is designed to confound and frustrate its victims. Reliable tech support, an active user community and thorough help documentation have a profound impact on user experience. We give higher scores to software with a demonstrated commitment to tech support and customer service.

With the rife fraud, scamming and crime that takes place on the internet, anti-malware software is necessary.

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