Cybercrime is expected to cost $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. If measured as a country, cybercrime would be the world’s third-largest economy after the U.S. and China. As cybercrime becomes more pervasive, businesses need stronger defenses to protect enterprise file data from malware. Companies have a responsibility to keep customer and employee information secure.
Antivirus software is an important defense because if viruses get into an enterprise network, they can
- Crash devices
- Spy on users through webcams
- Monitor and access personal accounts
- Delete files
- Reformat or erase hard drives
What Is Antivirus Scanning?
Antivirus scanning software finds viruses and contains them before they can infect other devices and damage the network. According to Norton, a virus is “a type of malicious code or program written to alter the way a computer operates and is designed to spread from one computer to another.”
One of the virus types is a file-infecting virus, which is also known as a file injector virus. A file-infecting virus is malicious code that is added to a file. This file could be a Word doc, spreadsheet or other executable file. Executable file types include .exe, .vbs or .com. When the recipient opens an infected file, the malicious code is executed. The virus starts copying itself and runs in other executable applications.
To keep file-infecting viruses away from your network, it’s important to pick a managed file transfer (MFT) solution that has antivirus scanning.
How Does Antivirus Software Work?
Here are three ways antivirus software finds viruses:
- Signature-based detection
- Heuristic-based detection
- Behavior-based detection
The software compares a list of known malware with the files and applications it scans. If it finds a match, it will try to remove the file.
The software can recognize signs in each file’s code that look like known malware. Because it’s based on patterns instead of exact matches, heuristic-based detection catches some viruses that signature-based detection doesn’t.
The software analyzes files and programs for strange or unauthorized behavior. Behavior-based detection is the most advanced of these types.
Once antivirus software finds a virus, it tries to remove or delete it. If the virus can’t be deleted, the virus is quarantined. This means that the virus is separated from the rest of the device to keep it from infecting anything.
Can Antivirus Software Scan Zip Files?
Yes, but keep in mind that antivirus software may scan .zip files differently. Some temporarily decompress the files and scan the contents, while others scan the files for viruses after they’ve been extracted.
Can You Scan an Attachment for Viruses?
Yes! Your desktop email client should have antivirus scanning built in, but you can also install a third-party antivirus software for extra security.
Virus-Free File Transfers Every Time
The amount of security breaches and cybercrime in the world today is unprecedented. CIOs and IT directors must respond now by adopting a secure file transfer solution that increases productivity while ensuring the security and availability of enterprise information.
Thru was designed with IT and cybersecurity experts in mind by combining an intuitive user interface with extensive security options for controlling and protecting enterprise data. Highly advanced security features like encryption and antivirus scanning make Thru the ideal MFT solution for businesses.
