When choosing an antivirus program for your home or office take into consideration more than the detection rate of a program in controlled tests. You also want to make sure it can effectively detect new viruses and other malware. The virus writers are constantly working to devise methods of defeating antivirus software. They create viruses that can disable them, evade detection techniques, or bypass the antivirus software itself.

One of the earliest kinds of antivirus software worked by comparing files coming into devices against their databases of known malware signatures. This kind of signature detection works for malware that is older. However, the virus creators are able to create new signatures at any time for new types of malware.

Modern versions of antivirus software use the heuristic method of detection to identify potential threats. Heuristics are not looking for exact matches, but rather take a look at the behavior of software and files to determine if it matches known malware. This method has been enhanced by a method known as behavior-based detection, which analyzes the way the program or file performs to try to determine if it is malicious.

Some viruses attempt http://webroot-reviews.com/how-does-antivirus-software-work/ to take down antivirus software by hiding, blocking access to the antivirus program’s updates system, or corrupting library files that are required for an antivirus scanner to function. Some viruses are more sophisticated and can directly alter or disable the functions of the antivirus software. These viruses are becoming increasingly common and come with features such as an worm that propagates from one computer another.