Antivirus waste of time

It's a story we heard again and again at RSA this week. The pros are generally smart enough to avoid the things that will get them hacked -- visiting malicious websites or opening documents from untrusted sources.

But even if they get fooled, the odds are their antivirus software catching it are pretty low. But many of these pros also believe that antivirus isn't always that useful to the average business either. I don't want to downplay the need for it, but it has certainly lost its effectiveness. The problem is that most criminals are smart enough to test their attacks against popular antivirus products.

There's even a free website called Virus Total that lets you see whether any of the most popular malware scanning engines will spot your Trojan program or virus. So when new attacks pop up on the internet, it's common for them to completely evade antivirus detection.

Consumers and small businesses can get good antivirus software for free , but do businesses even need antivirus software? The short answer is: yes they do. Botezatu also argued for the other security features that come with modern suites, like anti-spam and even password managers.

There is something to this. I can't say how it compares to standalone password managers but, as they say about Windows Defender, it's certainly better than nothing. As for antispam, it's not a topic I've thought of for a while. I assume most people are using a mail service like Gmail that does a pretty good job of blocking spam. So are the paid suites worth the money? Looking at all these facts, I'm unclear.

If you really have a problem with the money then this is definitely your best option. That's just not that much. If I'm not sure then I'm not comfortable switching to a solution that everyone agrees is inferior.

It's like a motorcycle helmet. Lots of people don't wear them and never have a problem. Some people wear them and still get in fatal accidents.

But it can make a big difference. If a real threat comes my way and the anti-malware stops it then it has definitely paid for itself. I've changed the way I charge my iPhone. You should, too. Time for a Linux smartphone? Developers are in short supply. Replay Video. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. Found the story interesting? Like us on Facebook to see similar stories.

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