One of the most widely used utility programs is the antivirus program. A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the knowledge or permission of the user. Some computer viruses can erase or alter data stored on the machine; steal data and send it to someone else; waste computer resour­ces; or interfere with the user’s ability to do work by randomly presenting text, video, or music.

Antivirus software can be used to combat the threats and annoyances caused by computer viruses. Antivirus software is a utility program that protects, detects, and removes viruses from a computer’s memory or storage devices. Antivi­rus software will typically scan incoming email messages for hidden threats and alert users to attempts to infect the computer when surfing the Web. Many computers are sold with an antivirus program already installed. Additionally, there are several antivirus programs available for purchase. Because these viruses and computer threats are continually being developed, it is important to keep antivirus software up-to-date. Usually these updates can be completed online by visiting a Website maintained by the software company.

Antivirus packages that are popular today include Microsoft Defender (developed by Microsoft to protect computers running Windows to protect the Operating System), Bitdefender, Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky and Avast.