The importance of having an Antivirus on your PC can’t be stressed enough. For one, an Antivirus bars the entry of any malicious threat on your computer. But, with this post, we are going to cement a very important aspect of an Antivirus and, that is, it even keeps your system guarded while you are online i.e. while you are surfing the web.
Here, for once, you might wonder –
I am a very careful user, I don’t visit sketchy links or don’t download suspicious attachments, then why on Earth do I need an Antivirus when surfing the web? Or, why should I consider enabling the web protection module that my Antivirus program offers?
To begin with, malware variants are evolving with every passing moment. And, for cyber miscreants, there can’t be a better medium than the world wide web to dispatch malware. So, when you have an Antivirus you can rest assured of internet protection. The best antivirus for web browsing ensures to stop any virus in its tracks much before it hits your computer and damages the files inside or even its very functionality. We’ll demonstrate this with the help of an example a little later in the post.
But before that, how about having a glimpse of how an Antivirus can thwart malicious threats intentions –
Also Read: Five Important Functions required In An Antivirus Software for MAC
– Do You Have Time To Check Every Website or Application
This point would kind of give you an idea of how important it is to have an antivirus when surfing the web. Consider the following points and see if you can relate –
- You enter a website that fulfills all security parameters and looks like the website of your bank. You click on it, make a transaction and the next thing that happens is that funds are being debited without your authorization?
- You receive a mail for an urgent meeting where you are asked to click on an attachment. You click open the mail and download the attachment since the sender looks genuine. The moment you click open the downloaded file, a virus is installed in the background that has locked your system behind ransomware
- You receive a text on a popular messenger app prompting you to click the link open or else an offer would expire. Turns out that the link you so energetically clicked on was malware.
– An Antivirus Keeps Questionable Websites At Bay
There are over a billion websites in this world, some active and some inactive. And, quite alarmingly, over 12 million websites are infected with some or the other malware.[1]
Now, you might be the most prudent web user, there are several ways that a malicious website may trap you into installing a threat onto your system. How about a vibrating link lurking at the bottom of a website? You probably won’t even realize that you have clicked on one such and the virus would have traveled inside your computer.
Another scary part is that there are times when even the best websites armed with the most robust security measures fail to protect themselves from malicious threats. Take an example of X-Cart, an E-commerce software vendor that suffered a ransomware attack at the end of October 2020. [2]
Apart from having an Antivirus by your side, here are some points to steer clear of malicious websites
– Email Attachments
Cyberattackers pack their malware inside attachments that they send across to you via emails. These emails oftentimes look so genuine (and at times alarming) that you are driven into clicking onto such emails.
And, once an unsuspecting user clicks one such attachment open, the inherent virus installs in the background. That’s where an Antivirus begins its work, it blocks such threats in real-time before they make their way inside your computer.
– An Antivirus Can Stop All Kinds of Hacking Attempts
A robust website or application may be well prepared for malicious threats that it knows of, but what about threats that catch them off guard? Like we said, hackers and their malicious intentions come in various deadly forms.
And, this is what we are talking about – hackers are on the lookout for vulnerabilities and loopholes in websites and applications. Much before the developers patch these, a smart hacker may exploit these vulnerabilities and infect the website or applications, not to mention, the users may have to pay the price. This is called a zero-day threat. The best Antivirus for web browsing constantly updates its definitions and as such even zero-day threats can’t bypass an Antivirus.
Which Are The Best Antivirus?
Like we mentioned before, let’s see how an Antivirus keeps you protected while you are browsing the web. Let’s have a look at Systweak Antivirus which is one of the best Antivirus for Windows.
What Internet Protection Does Systweak Antivirus Offers?
Systweak Antivirus comes armed with Web Protection and Firewall Protection module. While the web protection module prevents you from accidentally stumbling upon a malicious website, the firewall protection monitors and blocks internet access to applications that can be harmful to your computer. And, when we say applications, we even mean those that you have downloaded or that are downloading. Say you have stumbled on a suspicious website, Systweak Antivirus will warn you as in the screenshot below –
As for applications, again, Systweak Antivirus doesn’t hold back and keeps your computer on guard –
You can access these modules from the settings.
What Else Can I Expect?
- Real-time protection against all kinds of threats
- Virus definitions are regularly updated
- Multiple scanning modes: Deep, Quick, and Custom
- Malware and exploit protection
- Schedule scans so that your normal day-to-day work doesn’t get hampered
- Systweak Antivirus is light on system resources as compared to many counterparts
How To Use Systweak Antivirus?
1. Download, run and install Systweak Antivirus
Click Here To Download Systweak Antivirus
2. Click on Start Scan and wait for the scan to get over
3. Systweak Antivirus also keeps a sharp eye on vulnerabilities that could likely exploit your PC. And as you can see you can side away such vulnerabilities in quarantine as well
Here are some other great Antivirus for Windows that you may consider as an option.
Wrapping Up:
If you have just assembled a new PC or have just installed Windows on your new laptop before you even think about opening the internet, please consider installing Antivirus software for secure web browsing. And, if you reciprocate our intentions, do share this post with people you care for.
[1] https://expertinsights.com/insights/50-web-security-stats-you-should-know/
[2] https://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-hits-e-commerce-platform-x-cart/