This may seem like a question that is asked very commonly in recent years and rightfully so. Security software has become more vital than ever especially for businesses when trying to protect sensitive information. There have been significant increases in cases of cyber-attacks in the form of viruses, phishing, spying and many more. This has led to a heavier focus on endpoint protection platforms, which are a set of security tools used to provide protection to all endpoint devices connected to a certain network.
Anti-virus software is essential for protection against viruses, which come in many forms including malware and spyware. This can give cybercriminals the capability to cause damage on devices, obtain sensitive information and commit fraud. Antivirus does not cover every single cyberattack, but it is still very important for shutting out potential intruders.
Anti-virus software does have to be bought, which is why it is incredibly important to do your research prior and find a program that is well known and generally considered to be very reliable. This is important as some viruses disguise themselves as anti-virus software and end up exploiting vulnerability in your device which can provide a gateway to potentially everlasting attacks.
Anti-spyware software is used for protection against spyware. Spyware is a specific type of malicious software that infects your device, commonly thought to be one of the most dangerous, allowing the attacker to be able to spy on your activity on said device. This means that they can potentially see everything that you are doing, including bank transactions and form submissions that require sensitive information.
The worst thing about spyware is that you are usually unable to detect whether this software is installed into your computer as it operates in hidden mode. The only slight signs that you could maybe pick up on is that the speed of the device may decrease sufficiently, but bad connection could make this a hard thing to tell. For more information on mobile security solutions, check out this infographic about everything you need to know regarding cyber attacks.