Best Antivirus And Internet Protection Software
Antivirus software was originally designed to detect and remove viruses from computers. As time passed, the internet evolved and a wide array of technologies were invented. However, this boom did come with a downside: the creation of other, more advanced types of malicious software or malware. In this blog we will cover the history of Antivirus and the best Antivirus and Internet Protection Software.
If you are new to our channel, we recommend you to also check our blog 20 Computer Viruses and Their Types where we showed different types of viruses and their effects on your computer.
History of Antivirus
The beginnings of antivirus software date back to 1971, when the first computer virus known as the Creeper infected and spread to PDP-10 mainframe computers manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).
In order to combat the Creeper, American computer programmer Ray Tomlinson developed the Reaper. It was a program designed to delete the virus. It should be noted, though, that the Reaper was not an actual antivirus. Instead, it was also a virus, albeit with a more benevolent purpose—to remove the Creeper from infected computers.
Now with the born of the modern antivirus, that software could protect the user from not only computer viruses, but also different kinds of malware such as spyware, ransomware, adware, trojans, and ransom hijackers.
The rise of the antivirus software industry
The growth of the antivirus industry continued in 1988 and well into the ‘90s. German cybersecurity company Avira founded in 1986, but it wasn’t until two years later that it would launch its first version of AntiVir (called Luke Filewalker back then). Czech cybersecurity firm Avast would also be founded, and it would release the first version of the Avast Antivirus application the same year. The company would also create a Virtual Private Network (VPN) called Avast SecureLine VPN.
Dr. Vesselin Bontchev, a doctor in computer science from Bulgaria, released a free antivirus program also in 1988. Around Autumn, Alan Solomon would establish S&S International, and he would create Dr. Solomon’s Anti-Virus Toolkit (only launched commercially in 1991 to go up against rival companies Symantec and McAfee).
The antivirus software industry in the 90’s
By the ‘90s, the industry was growing at a rapid pace. In 1990, IT security specialist Panda Security founded in Spain. The Computer Antivirus Research Organization (CARO) was also formed in the same year with the goal of researching and studying malware. Some of the organization’s members include Alan Solomon, Vesselin Bontchev, and Eugene Kaspersky (of Kaspersky Lab).
Symantec—known for its Norton line of computer security products—released the first ever Norton AntiVirus in 1991. Dutch cybersecurity company AVG Technologies founded the same year, and its first AVG AntiVirus product came out the year after. ESET, a company based in Slovakia, also established in 1992 by the authors of the original NOD32 Antivirus.
The mid to late ‘90s also saw the birth of several cybersecurity companies. Bitdefender founded in Romania in 1996, and Kaspersky Lab started in 1997 by Eugene and Natalya Kaspersky (his wife at the time). In 1998, only Kaspersky Anti-Virus had the capability to eliminate CIH (aka Chernobyl or Spacefiller), a virus released in Taiwan by a student in the country’s Tatung University.
Antivirus software in the new millennium
The 2000s was a time of even more advancements for the antivirus industry. In 2005, Finland-based company F-Secure developed an anti-rootkit tool called BlackLight. They were the first cybersecurity firm to do so.
In 2008, McAfee unveiled Artemis, a cloud-based anti-malware function added to the year’s edition of McAfee VirusScan. AVG followed suit in 2011 by creating a similar system they named Protective Cloud Technology.
All the innovations from the ‘80s until today are undoubtedly what led cybersecurity to the powerhouse industry it is today. Cybersecurity is a big business that makes billions of dollars in revenue each year, and its growth shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Malware, Spyware, and Adware Protection
The travails of 2020 are behind us; we made it to 2021! But so did the hackers and malware coders whose nefarious inventions attack the security and privacy of our devices and data. They don’t stop because of a pandemic, or political turbulence. That relief you feel doesn’t mean you can let your guard down. You need an effective, up-to-date antivirus solution for all your PCs. Which one? We’ve tested and evaluated more than 40 antivirus tools to help you pick the one that’s best for your situation.
The Best Antivirus And Internet Protection Software for 2021
McKafee Antivirus Plus
A subscription for McAfee AntiVirus Plus lets you protect every Windows, Android, macOS, and also iOS device in your household. Other products may score better in testing, but none of them offer a deal like this.
Norton Antivirus Plus
Norton AntiVirus Plus gets impressive scores in independent lab tests and our own hands-on tests and offers a wealth of useful features. However, it’s expensive and doesn’t offer deals for multiple-computer households.
Kaspersky Antivirus
Kaspersky Anti-Virus takes perfect or near-perfect scores from all the independent testing labs, and it also aced our hands-on ransomware protection test. It remains an antivirus Editors’ Choice.
Bitdefender Antivirus
MacKeeper
