IT Security Stack Exchange
IT Security Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [antivirus]

Antivirus or anti-virus software is used to prevent, detect, and remove malware, including but not limited to computer viruses, computer worm, trojan horses, spyware and adware.

-- Excerpt from wikipedia.

When to use this tag:

  • Question about anti-virus software
  • When talking about virus detection algorithm
  • For online, offline, resident anti-virus questions.
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Help! My home PC has been infected by a virus! What do I do now?

This is an attempt to ask a canonical question as discussed in this old meta post. The goal is to create something helpful that can be used as a duplicate when non experts ask about virus infections. Let's say that I have determined beyond doubt…
Anders
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How do you explain the necessity of "nuke it from orbit" to management and users?

When a machine has been infected with malware, most of us here immediately identify the appropriate action as "nuke it from orbit" - i.e. wipe the system and start over. Unfortunately, this is often costly for a company, especially if backups are…
Polynomial
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What is the safest way to deal with loads of incoming PDF files, some of which could potentially be malicious?

As an investigative journalist I receive each day dozens of messages, many of which contain PDF documents. But I'm worried about some of the potentially malicious consequences of blindly opening them and getting my computer compromised. In the past,…
Tom the journalist
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Has it been mathematically proven that antivirus can't detect all viruses?

What analysis was Bruce Schneier referencing when he wrote: Viruses have no “cure.” It’s been mathematically proven that it is always possible to write a virus that any existing antivirus program can’t stop. From the book Secrets & Lies by Bruce…
Cate
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124
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8 answers

Are there technical differences which make Linux less vulnerable to virus than Windows?

What makes Linux so different than Windows in terms of anti-virus needs? My question is not if I should get an anti-virus for my Linux. I perfectly understand why an AV is important. I would like to understand if there are conceptual (technical)…
user69377
116
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10 answers

Alternatives to anti-virus for keeping oneself safe

I have read a lot of articles that talk about how using an AV is less safe than not having one for more intermediate PC users who are careful with what they click and download. For example, here are a couple of articles:…
delacroix
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105
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3 answers

How are anti viruses so fast?

The common anti-virus (to my knowledge) uses a kind of brute force type method where they get the hash of the file and compare it to thousands of known virus' hash. Is it just they have servers with super fast SSD and they upload the hashes to that…
Harry
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7 answers

Should I get an antivirus for Ubuntu?

Considering the recent thread regarding anti-virus for the Mac I wonder how many of the arguments put forth are relevant today to Linux systems, specifically Ubuntu. There are no known Ubuntu desktop malware in the wild. GNU/Linux is a very…
dotancohen
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7 answers

Company claims hardwire connections are a security issue

Someone to whom I am related is at a study camp for their desired profession. This person, let's call her Jane, is supposed to be studying rigorously for two months. The housing provided offers wireless internet connections, which are spotty and…
Erin B
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2 answers

I'm a White Hat and I develop my own viruses. Should I report it when almost all scanners say the executable is safe?

I develop my own viruses for 'scientific' purposes, namely to see if they pass the test of Virustotal.com. They all do, except for one or two scanners. Is this considered something you should report to Microsoft/McAfee/etc? If yes, how?
John Doe
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15 answers

How to write an email regarding IT Security that will be read, and not ignored by the end user?

I've observed that several of our users are ignoring messages sent from IT Security managers, and also the system generated "You just sent a virus" notifications. The problem seems to be among people who are not computer savvy, who are in no way…
makerofthings7
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Should I get an antivirus for my Mac?

There are some people saying that people should use an antivirus software on Mac. And there are thousands of people claiming that Macs don't get viruses (under this term I mean spyware / malware as well), some even say that it's just a trick from…
gen
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10 answers

Replacing Windows 7 security updates with anti-virus?

Microsoft has announced Windows 7 will no longer be receiving updates after January 14, 2020: Here. I hate windows 10's forced updates and telemetry so I have always stuck with Windows 7, but it may be as good as dead after the lack of security…
TritiumCat
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How do antiviruses scan for thousands of malware signatures in a short time?

Most antiviruses have hundreds of thousands or even millions of malware signatures and yet they scan many files in a reasonable short time with high detection rates. Even real-time scanners doesn't slow computer noticeably but provide strong…
Koorosh Pasokhi
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How to scan a PDF for malware?

Can anyone suggest an automated tool to scan a PDF file to determine whether it might contain malware or other "bad stuff"? Or, alternatively, assigns a risk level to the PDF? I would prefer a free tool. It must be suitable for programmatic use,…
D.W.
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