Why should antivirus and anti-spyware software be updated often?

Answer 1

Answer

It is important because new threats are emerging everyday on the web. Holes or vulnerablities are always being looked for and when they are found cybercriminals try to exploit them. There are two different kinds of people who look for holes.

Black Hats are those who look for and use holes and errors in code. These people are the reason why Microsoft has to have service packs. For the last couple of years black hats have been focusing on Microsoft and the holes in windows xp to conduct their crimes. Which include identiy theft.

White Hats look for the same thing as black hats but they don't try to use them to make money. White Hats alert companies like Microsoft and fix the hole before it can be exploited.

The problem with updates is people neglect their computers. These puts you at risk for a number of crimes. If you work for a company then it puts your employer at risk to. Many people today work at home by accessing company files from the luxary of their bedroom via computer. Well if your computers is infected by malware that has the ability to communicate and steal information then the information can be sent to shady people without you even noticing. Viruses and Spyware are harmful because most there to either comprimise your system or work in the background without being noticed. Hackers also use spyware infections to download illegal content and send malware to other computers and their networks through and infected computer. In other words they can use your computer as a bot and if the malware is traced back to your IP address then you will be held responsible.

if u forgot or miss update, i suggest u to unstall ur antivirus, install the kingsoft free antivirus. i could update in real time

Answer 2

Antivirus software developers frequently update their applications and signature files, so it's worth your time to check the antivirus software's site every one to two weeks for updates. If you hear about a dangerous new virus outbreak, check for emergency or priority updates right away. Many antivirus applications include an automatic updater or utility that checks the software's site for you. For example, Norton AntiVirus provides a Live-Update feature that will prompt you to download updates as they become available.

As for scanning your system, most users only perform a complete system scan once when they initially install an antivirus application. After that, the antivirus application resides in system memory where it continues to scan downloads, emails, macros, and other potential sources of infection on the fly. Even so, if your antivirus software runs in memory, you should think about performing a complete system scan at least once per month, as well as when there's a major update to the software and/or if the system starts behaving strangely. If you don't run the antivirus software in memory (maybe you have a limited amount of system RAM), you'll need to perform a complete system scan much more frequently, such as once a week.

Answer 3

Because otherwise we could get newer viruses and out old software's won't pick it up