According to a recent report by a team of computer security researchers, antivirus software is becoming less and less effective at identifying malware threats. The report suggests that consumers and businesses should start to look for other ways to defend their networks from viruses since even today’s most popular antivirus programs have trouble removing dangerous threats.
The report was discussed in an article on Computer Weekly, where the writer concluded by stating that software should only be one component of an effective virus defence strategy, and that smart businesses and consumers are using a wide range of programs, tools, and common sense to defend themselves from online malware threats.
The initial report was published by Spiderlabs, a PC security research firm. The report studied a recent infection of banking malware which stole customer’s PINs from computer databases. Frighteningly enough, the PIN-stealing viruses were rarely detected by antivirus software. Since banks usually have the best possible antivirus software available, this is a frightening development.
Basically, the gap between antivirus detection and the actual number of antivirus threats is rising. In other words, your antivirus software might only identify 75 threats on your computer when there are actually 100 threats.

What does this news mean for you?

This is bad news for consumers and businesses around the world, but it’s not the end of the world just yet. Here are some recommendations to help protect yourself from today’s latest viruses – even when your antivirus software cannot:
-Educate yourself on how viruses and malware work
-Never click on links sent through strangers on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, no matter how enticing those links appear to be
-Use an antivirus program as well as an anti-malware and junk clean-up program like PC Cleaner Pro
-Make sure you update your antivirus software on a regular basis
Today, simply installing a good antivirus program may not be enough to protect your PC. However, if you can follow the above tips, your computer – and all of the personal information you keep on it – will be kept as secure as possible.