There are two main types of antiviruses. Signature-based antivirus and behavior-based antivirus. Every business has at least one of these antivirus protections in place – or so we hope, but which one is best for your security? In this blog, we will discuss what a signature-based antivirus is, its benefits, and the limitations associated with the software.
What is a signature-based antivirus?
Signature-based antivirus is a type of security software that uses signatures to identify malware. Signatures are bits of code that are unique to a specific piece of malware. When signature-based antivirus software detects a piece of malware, it compares the signature to its database of known signatures. It is the most common type of antivirus software used by businesses today.
What are the benefits of a signature-based antivirus?
One of the main benefits of a signature-based antivirus is that it can protect your users from known threats. When a file is scanned, the antivirus software compares the code in the file to the signatures in its database. If a match is found, the file is considered to be malware and is quarantined or deleted. This helps to protect your users from known persistent threats and keep your network safe.
Another benefit is that it draws from a global pool of intelligence to identify threats and, is very accurate in detecting these threats.
So, what are the limitations?
While signature-based antivirus offers a degree of protection, it is not foolproof. New viruses are created every day, and it can take weeks or even months for signatures to be added to the database. This means that there is a window of opportunity during which new viruses can infect your system without being detected by your antivirus software.
In addition, this type of antivirus is not effective against certain types of malware, such as ransomware. This is because ransomware uses encryption to disguise itself, making it difficult for antivirus software to identify it as malicious.
The concept of signature-based antivirus is relatively known in the cybersecurity world. But, just like the concept, it can only offer protection against the Known. However, in this digital age where new viruses are being created every day, it’s important to have a robust security solution in place that can protect against both the known and unknown.
If you are looking for a comprehensive security solution like this, behavior-based antivirus may be something you want to look into. It uses artificial intelligence to identify malicious behavior, making it more effective against new and unknown threats.
To learn more about behavior-based detection, check out these articles:
