Is Antivirus Software Really Useful?

Which Antivirus Software makes sense?

In order to protect your personal and company data from hacker attacks as well as possible, the purchase of antivirus software is the norm. But are antivirus programs really useful? That is controversial.

Is the use of anti-virus software unnecessary or even harmful? This is what Robert O'Callahan claims, who worked for 16 years as a developer at Mozilla Firefox, one of the world's most widely used Internet browsers. "Antivirus software vendors are terrible. Don't buy and uninstall antivirus software if you already have one," O'Callahan recently wrote on his blog.

The IT expert is not alone in his opinion. Justin Schuh, an IT security expert at competitor Google Chrome, has a similar opinion. He finds most antivirus programs not very useful and sometimes even harmful. "The antivirus programs are the biggest obstacle that stands in the way of delivering a secure browser," he commented on Twitter.

Both reasons why the antivirus programs can interfere with important system and software updates. In addition, some of the services have security gaps that malware can exploit. Once the virus protection has been cracked, its good system networking can even make work easier for hackers.

Does Windows Defender make sense as the sole antivirus program?

However, the two of them exclude one program from their criticism: Windows Defender, Microsoft's own security protection, is recommended by the experts - at least if the operating system is up to date. It is the only program that adheres to standardized security practices and consistently uses competent security developers.

For private and business computer users, Windows Defender also offers the advantage that it is already included in the purchase of the Microsoft operating system, so there are no additional costs for anti-virus software.

A circumstance that makes business increasingly difficult for antivirus manufacturers such as Kaspersky and Symantec. Several manufacturers have now lodged a complaint with the EU Commission against Microsoft's market power and are seeking antitrust proceedings.

But should craft entrepreneurs really rely solely on Windows tools in the event of a cyber attack?

An extreme test of antivirus software: virus protection alone is not enough

"Windows protection is sufficient for common IT attacks," says Matthias Gärtner, spokesman for the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Gärtner bases his statement on a one-year test by the BSI. The Windows 7 operating system was used over 365 days Put to the test with simulated data attacks: Not a single attack with Trojans and other malicious programs was able to overcome Windows Defender.

However, Gärtner limits the fact that the test cannot be transferred one-to-one to computers with Windows 10 because the operating system has a different network and functionality.

With the well-known antivirus programs on the market, Gärtner cannot distinguish great differences in quality. It is important, however, not simply to download free antivirus software while in operation. "As a rule, manufacturers exclude commercial use in their general terms and conditions," says Gärtner.

It is also counterproductive to install several antivirus programs at the same time. "There is a risk here that the programs interfere with each other and the system speed suffers," explains Gärtner. The BSI expert also points out that virus protection alone does not make computers secure. It is important to run the system updates regularly and, ideally, to choose an Internet browser that supports "sandboxing". Applications are started in an isolated virtual environment to protect the operating system from malware. Gärnter recommends Google's Chrome browser.

Antivirus software test: Stiftung Warentest sees Norton ahead

Stiftung Warentest gives our antivirus fewer good marks. In a recent market study, all tested antivirus programs performed better than Microsoft's standard service. 13 paid and four free programs that were attacked with thousands of viruses, worms, and Trojans as well as ransomware, so-called ransomware, were tested.

The test winner was the Norton software from Symantec with a grade of 1.9. In addition to the protective function, the handling and poor user support were criticized on Windows Defender.

Regardless of the choice of antivirus software, all the experts agree on one point: There is no one hundred percent protection against hacker attacks because new, unknown pests keep pushing their way into the systems.