How does Antivirus software work?

Antivirus software waits patiently and checks for changes to existing files, looks for suspicious new files and can be used to 'scan' your entire PC, or individual files or folders, for viruses.

Virus Definitions

For antivirus software to work effectively it needs to know how to recognise a virus. This is done by using virus definitions. These are stored in a special file that tells the antivirus software what to look for.

As new viruses are created almost daily, virus definitions need to be updated regularly. This can be done automatically or manually.

Your antivirus software uses the Internet and gets an updated definition file from the supplier website. What happens when a virus is detected? When a virus is detected the first thing your antivirus software will do is attempt to repair it. If it cannot do that is will attempt to move it to a safe place such as a quarantine or virus vault area. Lastly a major virus may initiate a file deletion.

How a virus is processed when detected