Why didn't my Antivirus software stop a virus from infecting my PC?

This is a fairly common question someone may ask after contracting an infection even with their Antivirus software active. The bottom line is no level of protection can 100% protect or guarantee that your PC will never contract an infection. Many reasons exist for this and I will cover a few here.

First off there are new viruses and infections coming out everyday. Though your Antivirus software may update daily, it cannot block or cure the virus until it knows it exists and then be fixed. This is why your Antiviurs software updates daily and in some cases every 4 hours. This turns things into a constant battle between Virus makers, and Virus Protectors. Similar to speeders who use Radar Detectors versus the police with their Radar Guns. The police come out with a new Radar Gun, and the Radar Detector manufactures come up with a new model (update) to detect the new Radar Gun so they can avoid getting a ticket. The Police then come up with a new way of catching the speeders, followed by a new model of Radar Detector again. This goes on and on. Virus makers and Antivirus Software are in the same kind of battle. This isn't going to change anytime soon.

Another reason why an infection may get through your defenses is if you click on the infection by accident or open it. If so then you have just opened the door to the infection while, letting it run wild on your PC. In layman's terms it is game over, you are infected and the virus is doing what it wants for the most part. Many viruses are made to weaken or hide from your Antivirus software. Once the Virus gets a chance to run, it can tell your Antivirus to leave it alone, take down your firewall, disable your Automatic Windows updates and wreak all sorts of havoc. You click on the infection and "You've got Trouble".

Now for the good news. Even with everything listed above your chances of getting infected with an existing and up to date Antivirus software and Antispyware protection are greatly reduced. By keeping your system's security software up to date and Windows as well, you are leaving yourself only exposed to the newest infections that are out there. Since the Security Software updates frequently you are only vulnerable to a smaller number of infections for a shorter period of time. (until the next update is released) If you never updated or had no software installed then you would be vulnerable to an enormous number of infections in search of unprotected PC's.

Look for the signs that you may be infected. For example if while surfing the internet a program tells you that you are infected and it isn't your Security Software(AVG, Norton etc), you can be pretty sure it is a virus trying to penetrate your defenses. In this example it is best to close your internet browser and run some scans with your existing Antivirus software or Antispyware protection. If you discover that your machine is infected and your Security Software can't remove it, then you will need to call in the professional Virus removers (ZolexPC).

If you stay vigilant and keep your security software up to date, while being very careful where your surf and what you click on, you should be relatively safe in your internet travels. Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the week.

Steve
www.zolexpc.com