In terms of PC security, antivirus protection is an absolute must-have. It doesn’t matter how a computer is used, and even if it doesn’t have direct access to the web, it’s still vulnerable. Wireless networks, all kinds of external data storage devices interact with computers, raising the risk of it getting infected with a wide variety of subtypes of known malware. While almost every PC user is supposed to have heard about the importance of antivirus protection, few ever thought about the power of web-based anti-malware scanning services, yet they have quite a number of advantages over conventional stand-alone security applications. Some of the pros are listed below:
- Online virus scanners cannot be corrupted by malware which often is capable of destroying the scanning engines of Windows-based antivirus programs. In fact, the more popular a software is, the more prone to attacks it is. Malware coders aim to defeat their main enemies – conventional antivirus applications. Since online scanning services keep their engines and signature databases stored on remote servers operated by big software vendors, they are guaranteed to work flawlessly and reliably.
- Even if Windows installation routine is destroyed by a virus, there’s no influence on the functions of online services. Since scanning and detection algorithms are operated from outside of the computer, and there’s no need to install anything into Windows, online services may be the last resort for may PC users.
- Typically only one antivirus application can be installed on a computer at a time. If there are two or more AV products, they are likely to cause conflicts and start “fighting” each other trying to kick the competitor out of the memory. With online virus scanners, it is way different; you can try as many of them as needed, choosing from over a dozen of reputable and highly respected names, not to mention the combo-services which feature joined databases from several AV manufacturers.
- No licensing issues; online virus scanners are free to use by any computer user in the world. They cannot be stolen, pirated or used illegally. Cleaning the infection is not illegal in any way, is it?
The most evident drawback of online virus scanners is their inability to set a PC security shield; however, they are not meant to act like that, and should be used for additional detection capabilities when desktop software fails to perform as expected, or when you need another opinion on you computer safety. This is where web virus and spyware scanning really over delivers.