i have a mac and a pc but i need antivirus for both

The need for countermeasures led to the development of the first antivirus software programs.

Sure, they both refer to cybersecurity software, but what do these terms actually mean, how do they differ, and are they both still relevant in dealing with todays digital threats.

They both refer to software designed to detect, protect against, and remove malicious software.

Contrary to what the name might suggest, antivirus software protects against more than virusesit just uses a slightly antiquated name to describe what it does.

Anti-malware software is designed to protect against viruses too.

That being said, anti-malware can stop a viral infection form happening and remove infected files.

However, anti-malware isnt necessarily equipped to restore files that have been changed or replaced by a virus.

Both antivirus and anti-malware fall under the broader term cybersecurity.

Such attacks might occur via your hardware (like a backdoor ) or through your software (like an exploit ).

This is why many people still see viruses as the biggest threat to their computer.

In reality, computer viruses are just one type of cyberthreat that happened to be popular when computers were in their infancy.

Theyre far from the most common threat today, but the name stuck.

Triggering a virus can be as simple as opening a malicious email attachment ( malspam ), launching an infected program, or viewing an ad on a malicious site ( adware ).

Once that happens, the virus tries to spread to other systems on the computers network or in the users list of contacts.

This process of self-replication can happen by modifying or completely replacing other files on the users system.

Either way, the resulting file must show the same behavior as the original virus.

Early viruses occurred on pre-personal computer platforms in the 1970s.

However, the history of modern viruses begins with a program called Elk Cloner, which started infecting Apple II systems in 1982.

Disseminated via infected floppy disks, the virus itself was harmless, but it spread to all disks attached to a system.

It spread so quickly that most cybersecurity experts consider it the first large-scale computer virus outbreak in history.

However, by the early 1990s, adolescent mischief had evolved into harmful intent.

I Have A Mac And A Pc But I Need Antivirus For Both