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Antivirus vs Anti-Malware: What’s the Difference?

Hackers strike every 39 seconds (about the time it takes to take a picture and upload it to social media).
Cybercrime is more profitable than illegal drug dealing because of the frequency of hacks which amounts to approximately 75 records stolen every second.

Many professionals are concerned about cybersecurity. The consequences of a data breach can be disastrous for your business.

The managed services side of our business also receives questions about the endpoint security software we require our customers to install in order to use our services.

Antivirus software is different from anti-malware software.
The purpose of this article is to outline the major differences between antivirus software and anti-malware software, as well as why you need protection.

  • Malware vs Viruses
  • What the difference between an antivirus and an anti-malware program is?
  • Virus and malware protection options you have.


What’s the difference between viruses and malware?

Viruses are common in computers. In the 1990s, when malicious attacks gained popularity, they became a buzzword.

difference between virus and malware

A virus is a computer program that encrypts and copies itself inside your computer. By copying itself, it aims to damage your network, such as destroying your data or corrupting your system.

You might think of it more like a cancer cell rather than a biological virus, to use a non-technical analogy.

Malware is the umbrella term for software that is malicious and includes a number of different types of software, including adware, bots, bugs, ransomware, spyware, Trojans, spyware, worms, and viruses.

To put it another way, malware is not always a virus.

Although viruses are no longer used in cyberattacks today, they are considered a legacy threat. They haven’t evolved and are therefore no longer a threat.
The other forms of malware have become increasingly popular among cybercriminals.

What’s the difference between antivirus and anti-malware?

Now that you understand the difference between viruses and malware, you know you won’t be able to protect yourself from every threat by only using antivirus software.

Malware protection, or endpoint protection, is what you need. (Endpoint protection, as its name indicates, provides host-based features as well, such as firewall policies and rules, intrusion detection and prevention, and advanced alerting).

The good news is that antivirus software has evolved, though virus-fighting programs have not. Even though their names may be misleading, antivirus software protects you from a wide range of security threats.

In most cases, anti-virus software also scans your computer system for malware in a database of known threats. In addition, it may perform a scan for malicious programs based on a list of “suspicious behavior.”

Identifying malicious software and preventing it from executing is what your antivirus does.

Next-generation antivirus relies on artificial intelligence instead of a traditional database of threats to determine whether malicious attacks are occurring in your network.

What are your options for antivirus, and anti-malware software?

A good antivirus and anti-malware software will help you minimize the risk of a malware attack.
There are two choices you can make:

mawlarebytes- virus and antimalware difference

Choose traditional anti-virus software with anti-malware protection.

Your software will scan for various threats so you’ll be protected from them.
If you want your anti-malware to know how to spot the latest attacks, you must keep your software up-to-date.

Choose next-gen antivirus software with machine learning.
The next generation of anti-malware software incorporates artificial intelligence to enhance protection against malware.

As with traditional antivirus, AI-based protection reduces the need for regular updates.

Conclusion: Next steps to take toward a stronger security posture

Your information is protected by anti-malware products, but a more extensive security assessment is necessary to address most of its vulnerabilities.

Your computer system is protected from malware and your valuable information is at risk when you do not have anti-malware protection.

The risk of all threats does not go down as a result.

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Aishwar Babber

Aishwar Babber is a passionate blogger and a digital marketer. He loves to talk and blog about the latest tech and gadgets, which motivates him to run GizmoBase. He is currently practicing his digital marketing, SEO, and SMO expertise as a full-time marketer on various projects. He is an active investor in AffiliateBay.

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