How To Protect Your Computer With Antivirus Software

Windows Security is a fully-featured antivirus, antimalware, and firewall program that does a great job at protecting your PC. If you prefer using a different antivirus software suite, such as Malwarebytes, you can do so, but you really don’t have to as long as Windows Security is running. If you do use a different antivirus suite, Windows Security will deactivate. [1] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source If you disable your third-party antivirus software, Windows Security will automatically reactivate to keep you protected.

The next switch on the page, “Automatic sample submission,” controls whether you want to anonymously submit sample files from your PC to Microsoft to keep cloud-delivered protection up to date. This is optional—you can turn the switch off if you don’t want to participate, but it won’t harm you either way.

Click Scan options in the “Current threats” section of the right panel. Select an option: To check common system folders where viruses may hide, select Quick Scan. If you’d rather scan the entire computer, select Full scan (this can take a while). Another option is to choose Custom scan, which allows you to scan only folders and drives you select. The most comprehensive way to scan for viruses is to choose the Microsoft Defender Offline Scan option, which will reboot your computer and scan for viruses offline. Click Scan now at the bottom to start the scan.

If Windows finds a corrupted or malicious file, it will alert you. You can then click Remove or a similar option to remove the file.

If the download doesn’t start automatically, click the click here link on the page to force the file to download. Your Mac has antivirus features built in to the operating system—Apple maintains that you can stay protected from viruses simply by keeping your system software up to date. [4] X Research source However, Malwarebytes (and AVG, Avast, Sophos, etc. ) is available if you’d like to give your Mac some extra protection. Malwarebytes may catch viruses and malware that your Mac won’t on its own.

If you see an error that says you can’t open the file due to it being from an unidentified developer, right-click the file and select Open. [5] X Research source

Use Malwarebytes Free: The free option lets you run scans when you want, but won’t allow you to schedule them or use real-time protection (which is recommended). Purchase Premium: The premium version of Malwarebytes ensures that your Mac stays fully protected from threats at all times. You can also schedule scans to run whenever you’d like. If you choose this option, you’ll need to provide payment info. Claim 14-day trial: This option gives you access to all premium features for 14 days. If you choose this option, you’ll have to enter an email address to confirm, and then click Start Trial. Activate license: If you already purchased the premium version and have a license number, select this option to activate that license now.

Click Open preferences when prompted by Malwarebytes. This opens your System Preferences to the Security & Privacy panel. Click the Privacy tab if it isn’t already selected. Scroll down the left panel and select Full Disk Access. Click the lock icon at the bottom. Enter your password and click Unlock. Check the box next to “Malwarebytes Protection” in the main panel. Click the padlock icon again to lock your settings and then close the window to return to Malwarebytes.

If you’re using the trial or the premium version, real-time protection is now turned on and actively protecting your Mac.

Although your computer is actively protected, you can still run scans manually whenever you’d like. If you’re using the free version of Malwarebytes and you don’t have the trial, run the scan periodically to check for viruses.

If Malwarebytes misidentifies a legitimate app as a threat, don’t check the box—just click Close.

Malwarebytes will remain running in the background as long as you have a trial or the premium version. You can re-open from the Launchpad or the Applications folder. Additionally, you can click the blue M icon in the menu bar (near the clock) to open the app quickly.