An antivirus is considered as a prerequisite for computer defense, safety, and security. Generally, it does the basic protection tasks for us, such as virus scan and defense, quarantine, and identity protection, among many others. A significant number of antivirus software is available both online and in CD installers. Each type of antivirus software has features unique from each other, such as adware blocking, malware defense, Internet surfing protection, and registry cleanup. However, computer users should not depend entirely on the antivirus and its capabilities.
An online blog highlights a common misconception about security and antivirus software. The said blog focuses on the belief of computer users that they can already chill and relax once an antivirus is present on their computer. This shows that the said computer users are not aware of the limitations of an antivirus.
In order to detect viruses, an antivirus needs pattern files that contain the most recent and updated information about the different viruses that exist. However, the number of viruses seems to increase at greater intervals than the antivirus pattern files. This means that one limitation of an antivirus is the slowness when it comes to the update and detection of newly-conceptualized viruses.
Antivirus software have limitations when it comes to defense against rootkits. Rootkits are harmful computer elements that attack on the center of the operating system of the computer. Also, they are not able to detect what we call the zero-day exploits, which are defined as serious computer infections that spread so fast that it may be late for the computer to identify it as harmful.