Antivirus Software Troy Behmer Outline Topics covered What

Antivirus Software Troy Behmer

Outline • Topics covered: – What is Antivirus software (AVS)? – What are the advantages and disadvantages of AVS? – What types are being used today? – Which are the top rated for 2011? – How are they tested? – What lies in the future for AVS? – Conclusion.

Antivirus Software (AVS) • Software programmed with the intent of preventing, detecting, and removing computer attacks on a system. – Possible attacks– Trojans, viruses, worms, other forms of malware. – Recognizes malicious programs uses detection methods. • 2011: – Software needs to have multiple scanning engines.

Advantages of AVS • Protection from outside threats using: – Signature-based detection: searches for known patterns of malicious data inside executable code. – Generic signatures: identifies new viruses or variants of previous viruses by searching for known malicious code or variants in the program files. – Sandbox Test: security mechanism takes program and runs it separate from the rest of the system, waits to see if it attempts any malicious actions. • Removal of pre-existing threats in system.

Possible disadvantages of AVS • Can impair comp. performance. • Novice users may misunderstand prompts and leave an area vulnerable. • Signature based detection can be fooled with new viruses, possibly using AVS against the system. • Colorful and easy to use interfaces are chosen over more protective systems due to level of difficulty. • Most run to the highest trusted level of the systems kernel, making a convenient “highway” for attack.

Types of Antivirus Software • Stand-Alone: Portable virus scanner that with scan the PC it is attached to for a certain set of known viruses. – Cannot provide any protection against new viruses. – Example: Stinger Made by Mc. Afee, removes some specific viruses. – Usually freeware. • Suite: Software that provides anti-virus as well as other additional features for the system. – Anti-spyware, firewall, parental controls, etc. – Example: Bit Defender Internet security. – Tend to be expensive ($30 – UP).

Types Continued • Cloud: Uses smaller agent software on a secure computer, while offloading the main portion of analysis to the software provider’s infrastructure. – Example : Cloud AV sends suspicious docs to a network cloud. Multiple virtual machines are used to run parallel scans with different virus scanners.

Top Rated of 2011 1. Bit. Defender Antivirus 2011: Best protection from new forms of malware. Extremely customizable dashboard. 2. Norton Antivirus 2011: Provides antivirus, antispyware, antirootkit, bot protection. 3. F-Secure Antivirus 2011: Protection against new viruses and spyware, easy user interface, easy to install. 4. Panda Antivirus 2011: Provides medium security from all malware threats. – May be prone to brute force attack. 5. AVG Antivirus 2011: Protects downloads, game/movie quality, faster scanning for malware.

How they are tested • EICAR test: Executing infected files to see whether or not the antivirus is able to catch the problem. The quality of the software is determined by the percentage of threats it successfully blocks, detects, or removes. • VIDEO: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=BW 281 Bj. QYEI

Future of AVS • Will antivirus’ stay as a third party product or become an integrated part of computer operating systems? • Antivirus’ could be moved onto network devices in order to make internet traffic more regulated/manageable. – Centralized antivirus could boost efficiency. • What do you think?

Conclusion • What we’ve talked about: – What an antivirus software is/does. – Advantages/disadvantages of AVS. – Types currently being used. – Which manufacturers are rated the best in 2011, and how they were tested. – What the future of antivirus software holds.

References • http: //www. windows 7 password. net/top-30 -free-security-programs-thatall-windows-users-should-know/ • http: //www. pcmag. com/article 2/0, 2817, 2368554, 00. asp • http: //www. pcmag. com/article 2/0, 2817, 2372364, 00. asp • http: //www. devduff. com/software/top-ten-antivirus-2011. php • http: //www. itsecurity. com/features/future-of-antivirus-031108/