8 Ways Antivirus Will Save your Business Time & Money

How much thought do you give to protecting your smart devices?

Antivirus software, as many computer users are aware of, is a program that is installed with the aim of protecting the device from malware, viruses, spyware, ransomware, rootkits, spam attacks, phishing attacks, cyber threats, data breach and so much more.

If you think your computer has been infected, or are you are unsure of your computers security, contact an IT professional to check it out for you.

While this definition may not be news to you, the total damage to businesses as a result of cyber-crime is roughly $1.5 trillion dollars annually.

Every single year.

More and more households and offices use computers nowadays and this has led to an increase of threats and risk of data breach for both individuals and organisations.

In addition to that, virus technology is evolving and becoming increasingly more complex and, in turn, more damaging.

There is no denying that data is one of the most vital components of any company and given the history of data breaches in companies and some prominent organisations (we’re looking at you Facebook), it is certainly important to protect confidential data from breaches and the systems from viruses.

Antivirus programs are recommended for each and every device; actually most computers come preinstalled with their own antivirus software. However, this doesn’t always have the reputation of protecting users from viruses and malware on the internet and a more robust solution is often times recommended.

Let’s look at 8 benefits of having an antivirus solution on your computer.

1. Protection Against Spyware and Viruses

The primary role of antivirus is protection from any kind of viruses, malware, spyware and other threats that may do harm to your device or data.

This kind of attack can be particularly detrimental if you use your computer for business activity.

Small business experts Max Funding, know the value of anti-virus software. They explain, “Anti-virus software is a must-have for me. I rely on my computer a lot for work and when planning my clients’ big day so I can’t afford to have anything go wrong for them. Paying for an antivirus program means peace of mind for me as much as it does the happy couple.”

2. Protection When Browsing The Internet

data protection

With the increased use of the internet, there has been an increase in the number of cyber threats and they come in forms that are hard to imagine, even for the avid user.

With antivirus software, you can be certain that any information you give out there is protected and any page you visit won’t harm your computer.

3. Protection From Phishing Attacks

Phishing is the attempt of stealing an individual’s data using malicious ways like sending a deceptive email that steals data once opened. Antivirus programs are able to detect such malicious activities and prevent you from falling prey.

Due to their public contact information and higher volume of emails being received, phishing can particularly affect small businesses.

4. Scanning Removable Devices

Another benefit of having an antivirus program is that it helps you scan any device that’s connected to your computer for any unknown threats.

After all, the last thing you want is a computer with important data being affected by malware from a simple flash drive.

5. Blocking Ads and Spam Websites

Currently, most of the spyware and viruses are executed from pop-up ads and spam sites which are created with the aim of stealing confidential data from your computer. A good antivirus solution will always help avoid this.

6. Password Protection

The renowned antivirus software has a feature known as password protection. This helps protect your passwords and any other sensitive information like credit card information from being stolen by hackers and other third-parties.

Entrepreneur Dean Anderson from  Pronto Finance values the importance of password protection for his business activities saying, “We have to log in to a number of different online services, so having anti-virus software that guarantees the safety of our passwords really gives us the peace of mind to carry out tasks with full security confidence.”

7. Two-Way Firewall

These solutions are also known to check any incoming and outgoing data, blocking any information that seems suspicious during the transfer.

8. Speed Up The Computer

speed

Antivirus solutions come packed with features nowadays and one of the most appealing ones is that they come with modules that delete any unwanted folders and files from your computer, which in turn boosts the device performance.

The programs are ideally designed in a way that they do not hamper the performance of your computer, unlike other programs that run in the background.

As you can see, the benefits of installing anti-virus software on your device are exceptional. Operating without it is one of many common mistakes PC users make and you don’t want to be one of the unlucky people who falls victim to a virus attack.

So, now is the time.

Check your computer and get your anti-virus software up to date, you’ll thank yourself for it.