What role does antivirus software play in helping protect your devices? Originally, antivirus scanned computer files and looked for patterns known to match computer viruses. Today, the best antivirus engines use multiple methods for identifying known and unknown online threats, and antivirus is still a foundational component of security software. Antivirus is file-based protection, and after a virus attack, having virus-infected files on a target computer or mobile device is one of the main ways online threats remain on that device after the initial attack. Because of this, file-based protection will always be instrumental in helping detect, neutralize and remove viruses.

Antivirus is an important part of what you might call internet security, security software or device security. A security solution includes antivirus as one of the foundations of how it helps defend against malware, but “internet security” typically refers to a software suite that has additional types of technology in addition to antivirus.

A computer, tablet or smartphone that connects to the Internet has the potential to encounter viruses and malware. While you may be careful what you do online, you could still visit a website that has been compromised with malware (without even knowing it) or download malware from a message from a trusted friend whose account was hacked. Someone else who uses your device might not be as careful as you. Having antivirus and security software for your computer or mobile device gives you protection against many types of malware that might not be easy to spot.

Antivirus and security software will include a scanning function to check for viruses and malware.