Security software program reviews: FAQs
Viruses are programs that can infect your computer
What is a virus?
Viruses are programs that can infect your computer, which is why everyone should install an antivirus program.
For example, it's easy to accidentally click on an unfamiliar email attachment and find that you've invited an unwanted and often malevolent guest, such as a virus or a worm, into your PC.
Viruses can drain your computer’s resources or damage files on your system.
Check out Which? reviews of free antivirus software.
Norton Internet Security
What does security software do?
A virus is just one form of malware. Malware is a catch-all term to describe the many types of malicious programs that attempt to compromise security.
Some types of malware can be particularly dangerous. Attempts to steal personal information including bank details are unfortunately not uncommon.
Security software is an all-in-one software package to help protect your computer from many types of malware.
It usually also contains other features such as a backup program to help you to copy and backup important files and folders in case your computer breaks beyond repair, and parental control features so you can manage your child's internet use.
The software runs automatically when your PC is on, and warns you of any threats, assisting you to take action if required.
Read our security software reviews.
What is phishing?
In a phishing scam, emails claiming to be from known companies such as banks are sent in bulk in the hope that a few victims will go to the counterfeit website, linked to from the email, and give away personal details such as bank account numbers and passwords.
What is spyware?
Spyware refers malware that spies on your activity.
It could report back your shopping preferences based on the websites you visit, or a keylogging program could record and pass on your internet bank account password as you type it in.
Spyware could even disable your anti-virus program.
Watch the Which? video guide to protecting your PC from spyware.
What about anti-spam?
Spam is unsolicited email, at best annoying, and at worse dangerous.
Spam filters weed out emails that they suspect to be spam from your inbox and put them in a separate folder. Watch out, though – legitimate emails can be labelled as spam.
Over time you can train your spam filter by marking as spam any junk emails that you receive. As a result, the number of spam emails caught by your spam filter should increase the more you use it.
Security software anti-spam software tends to work on Microsoft Outlook and Windows Live Mail. Webmail services such as Gmail and Yahoo! tend to have their own (better) spam filters built-in.
Need help understanding computer security jargon? See our guide to PC security terms.
How long are you protected for?
Usually when you buy security software, you receive protection for 1 year for either 1 or 3 computers. After a year, you'll need to resubscribe if you want to continue receiving updates to keep your software up to date against the latest malware. Sometimes, you can buy two years protection in advance, saving you money on the yearly rate.
Can I use more than one package?
You should not install more than one security software suite at once, as they might conflict with each other.
