Where to find your antivirus

It makes sense to combine our anti-threat effort into a single term that covers more than just viruses. Viruses are just one kind of malware. There are other forms of malware that are more common these days. Here are just a few:. Adware is unwanted software designed to throw advertisements up on your screen, often within a web browser, but sometimes within mobile apps as well.

Typically, adware disguises itself as legitimate or piggybacks on another program to trick you into installing it on your PC, tablet, or mobile device.

Spyware is malware that secretly observes the computer user's activities, including browsing activity, downloads, payment information, and login credentials, and then reports this information to the software's author. Spyware isn't just for cybercriminals. Legitimate companies sometimes use spyware to track employees. A keylogger , spyware's less sophisticated cousin, is malware that records all the user's keystrokes on the keyboard. This malware typically stores the gathered information and sends it to the attacker seeking sensitive information like usernames, passwords, or credit card details.

A computer virus is malware that attaches to another program and, when triggered, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and infecting them with its own bits of code. Worms are a type of malware similar to viruses in that they spread, but they don't require user interaction to be triggered. A Trojan , or Trojan Horse, is more of a delivery method for infections than an infection.

The Trojan presents itself as something useful to trick users into opening it. Trojan attacks can carry just about any form of malware, including viruses, spyware, and ransomware. Famously, the Emotet banking Trojan started as an information stealer, targeting banks and large corporations. Later, Emotet operated purely as an infection vector for other forms of malware, usually ransomware. Ransomware has been called the cybercriminal's weapon of choice, because it demands a profitable quick payment in hard-to-trace cryptocurrency.

A rootkit is malware that provides the attacker with administrator privileges on the infected system and actively hides from the normal computer user. Rootkits also hide from other software on the system—even from the operating system itself.

Malicious cryptomining , also sometimes called drive-by mining or cryptojacking , is an increasingly prevalent form of malware or browser-based attack that is delivered through multiple attack methods, including malspam, drive-by downloads, and rogue apps and extensions. So instead of letting you cash in on your computer's horsepower, the cryptominers send the collected coins into their own account—not yours.

So, essentially, a malicious cryptominer is stealing your device's resources to make money. Exploits are a type of threat that takes advantage of bugs and vulnerabilities in a system in order to allow the exploit's creator to deliver malware.

One of the most common exploits is the SQL injection. Malvertising is an attack that uses malicious ads on mostly legitimate websites to deliver malware. You needn't even click on the ad to be affected—the accompanying malware can install itself simply by loading and viewing the page in your browser.

All you have to do is visit a good site on the wrong day. Spoofing occurs when a threat pretends to be something it's not in order to deceive victims to take some sort of action like opening an infected email attachment or entering their username and password on a malicious site spoofed or faked to look like a legitimate site. Phishing is a type of attack aimed at getting your login credentials, credit card numbers, and any other information the attackers find valuable.

Phishing attacks often involve some form of spoofing, usually an email designed to look like it's coming from an individual or organization you trust. Many data breaches start with a phishing attack. The old school method of signature-based threat detection is effective to a degree, but modern anti-malware also detects threats using newer methods that look for malicious behavior.

To put it another way, signature-based detection is a bit like looking for a criminal's fingerprints. It's a great way to identify a threat, but only if you know what their fingerprints look like. Modern anti-malware takes detection a step further so it can identify threats it has never seen before. By analyzing a program's structure and behavior, it can detect suspicious activity. Keeping with the analogy, it's a bit like noticing that one person always hangs out in the same places as known criminals and has a lock pick in his pocket.

This newer, more effective cybersecurity technology is called heuristic analysis. Each time a heuristic anti-malware program scans an executable file , it scrutinizes the program's overall structure, programming logic, and data.

All the while, it looks for things like unusual instructions or junk code. In this way, it assesses the likelihood that the program contains malware. What's more, a big plus for heuristics is its ability to detect malware in files and boot records before the malware has a chance to run and infect your computer.

In other words, heuristics-enabled anti-malware is proactive, not reactive. Some anti-malware products can also run the suspected malware in a sandbox, which is a controlled environment in which the security software can determine whether a program is safe to deploy or not. Running malware in a sandbox lets the anti-malware look at what the software does, the actions it performs, and whether it tries to hide itself or compromise your computer. Another way heuristic analytics helps keep users safe is by analyzing web page characteristics in order to identify risky sites that might contain exploits.

If it recognizes something fishy, it blocks the site. In brief, signature-based anti-malware is like a bouncer at the nightclub door, carrying a thick book of mug shots and booting anyone that matches. The latest technologies. Antivirus Scanner Detects and blocks malware viruses, ransomware, banker trojans, etc.

NightVision Our automated, intelligent learning system protects you against new and evolving threats. PUA Shield Identifies potentially unwanted applications hidden within legitimate software. Safe Browsing Blocks harmful websites before they load. Ad Blocker Prevents intrusive and malicious ads, banners, and pop-ups from loading. Browser Tracking Blocker Stops companies from monitoring you online. Price Comparison Saves you money while you shop.

Load more. Laptop, smartphone or tablet? Secure all your devices with Avira. Discover Antivirus Pro for Mac and Windows. Install Avira Free Antivirus in 3 easy steps. Run the installer Double-click on the downloaded file. Confirm Click "Yes" on the dialog box to start your installation.

Follow the on-screen instructions This should take a few minutes only. System Requirements Your device is compatible. Free antivirus for Windows by Avira — Made in Germany. Why is antivirus software important?

Why is Windows Defender not enough to protect your system? How to get complete protection for your Windows device? How does Avira Free Security work? Avira Free Security: the best free antivirus for Windows Is Avira Free Security really free? Unlimited Free Music Downloader Free. Features Access downloads of Avast Products Read latest blog posts. Approximate size 5. Age rating For all ages. Category Security. This app can Access your Internet connection. Permissions info. Installation Get this app while signed in to your Microsoft account and install on up to ten Windows 10 devices.

This product needs to be installed on your internal hard drive. Find out with this easy test. Attackers get past security measures by hiding malware deep within compressed files.

There are a number of legitimate compression formats commonly used and easily opened by typical end users on most operating systems other than ZIP, such as:. EICAR test virus is not a real virus. Test viruses are built for testing and observing the features and reactions of your anti-malware solution when a virus is found. Download the test file to your computer. The EICAR test virus is the only standardized way to watch anti-virus-programs doing their job, and therefore probably all of them will detect and name the file.

Nevertheless, this says nothing about detection rates and protective performance of the tested software. If the EICAR test file is not detected by your malware scanner, we recommend looking for the reason because it might be caused by malfunctions.