{"id":17696,"date":"2022-01-29T13:38:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-29T18:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/?p=17696"},"modified":"2022-07-29T13:41:32","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T17:41:32","slug":"do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Really Still Need Antivirus Software in 2022?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The last thing you want to do in 2022 is spend money when you don\u2019t have to \u2013 even on an antivirus program. Do you really need one these days, anyway? Don\u2019t phones and computers come with built-in security?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, they do come with some level of protection, but it\u2019s often not adequate. You do need antivirus software, and it might even be worth paying for. Antivirus software can protect your device from malware and viruses, phishing emails, ransomware, and hackers. And these threats are only becoming more commonplace as time passes, even for Mac users. You need to know your security needs and choose an antivirus suite that can meet them. Read on to learn what you need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/security-265130_1280.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/security-265130_1280.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/security-265130_1280.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/security-265130_1280-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/security-265130_1280-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ransomware, Malware, and Other Cyber Threats Remain Commonplace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Computer viruses are very much still a threat to the average user, as are malware like adware and spyware, and ransomware, which hackers use to hold your system or your data for ransom, trying to make you pay up. New viruses and malware are coming out all the time, and in staggering quantities: in 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/allaboutcookies.org\/is-antivirus-software-necessary\">there were 116.85 million<\/a> new malware programs targeting Windows, and in the first half of 2022, there have been 30.53 million. More than three million new Android threats emerged in 2021, and nearly 600,000 emerged in the first six months of 2022.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Macs aren\u2019t safe, either \u2013 while they do have built-in security features, the days when hackers simply didn\u2019t find it worthwhile to write malicious code for Macs are over \u2013 if they even were, in the first place. In 2021, 2,741 Mac threats emerged, but the number is growing, and reached 16,809 in the first half of 2022.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You Need an Additional Layer of Protection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s true that Windows PCs, Macs, and Androids have built-in protections, but the extent to which those protections are adequate really varies from one platform to the next. The worst is Google Play Protect. Independent testing lab, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.av-comparatives.org\/consumer\/\">AV Comparatives<\/a>, has found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/how-to\/do-you-really-need-to-buy-antivirus-or-vpn-anymore\">Google Play Protect is literally the worst antivirus program<\/a>. And Android phones are definitely vulnerable to malicious websites, hackers, ransomware, identity thieves, and malware. If you\u2019re running an Android phone, you need third-party antivirus software that can protect it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Microsoft Defender Antivirus and Windows Firewall are the built-in antivirus software apps on Windows PCs running Windows 10 or later. These aren\u2019t as bad as Google Play Protect. Microsoft Defender provides protection against viruses and malware, but its phishing protections are poor. You can\u2019t use Microsoft Defender\u2019s malicious website protection or email phishing protection unless you\u2019re using a Microsoft browser and a Microsoft email address. Additional protection from another antivirus program can make up for these shortcomings, and you\u2019ll still get to use Chrome or Firefox.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Here\u2019s What to Look for in an Antivirus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For the most comprehensive antivirus protection, you really need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/en_us\/forHome\/products\/antivirus-plus.html\">pay for premium antivirus software<\/a>. You\u2019ll get much more than the bare-bones essentials offered by free antivirus programs. For example, you\u2019ll be able to protect more than one device, which is a must for the average household, in which there might be multiple smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Free antivirus programs also often come with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/searchsecurity\/answer\/How-can-we-detect-and-uninstall-bloatware#:~:text=Bloatware%20%2D%2D%20the%20term%20for,additional%20software%20they%20might%20want.\">bloatware<\/a> and may harass you with advertisements or entreaties to buy their premium service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most basic thing to look for in an antivirus program is protection against malware and viruses. You need an antivirus program that monitors for threats in real time, and can perform scans if necessary. It should have a low rate of false positives and provide one strong protection against <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zero-day_(computing)\">zero-day threats<\/a> that are just emerging for the first time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zero-day_(computing)\">The threat of ransomware is growing<\/a>, so you need an antivirus program that can help you avoid ransomware and recover if you do get attacked \u2013 many antivirus programs contain decryption tools for known ransomware programs. You do a lot of shopping and banking on your devices, so you need protection for your financial transactions. If you\u2019re on social media, you need features to protect your privacy online and safeguard against identity theft.&nbsp; You need password management, so that you can use a unique and strong password and username for each of your online accounts. If you have kids, you\u2019ll need an antivirus that provides parental controls and other features that keep kids safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your devices may have come with some built-in protections, but it\u2019s not time to completely ditch antivirus software yet. A paid antivirus program can fill in the considerable gaps that built-in protections and free software leave behind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The last thing you want to do in 2022 is spend money when you don\u2019t have to \u2013 even on an antivirus program. Do you really need one these days, anyway? Don\u2019t phones and computers come with built-in security?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":11512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[52],"class_list":{"0":"post-17696","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-news-2","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Do You Really Still Need Antivirus Software in 2022? - TechWalls<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The last thing you want to do in 2022 is spend money when you don\u2019t have to \u2013 even on an antivirus program. Do you really need one these days, anyway? Don\u2019t phones and computers come with built-in security?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Keffer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/\",\"name\":\"Do You Really Still Need Antivirus Software in 2022? - TechWalls\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/security-265130_1280.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-29T18:38:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-29T17:41:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#\/schema\/person\/31a8afbcb7f55b3795f72eb672f03921\"},\"description\":\"The last thing you want to do in 2022 is spend money when you don\u2019t have to \u2013 even on an antivirus program. Do you really need one these days, anyway? Don\u2019t phones and computers come with built-in security?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/security-265130_1280.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/security-265130_1280.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":666},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Do You Really Still Need Antivirus Software in 2022?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/\",\"name\":\"TechWalls\",\"description\":\"Technology News | Gadget Reviews | Tutorials\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#\/schema\/person\/31a8afbcb7f55b3795f72eb672f03921\",\"name\":\"Keffer\",\"description\":\"Jack Kieffer is a teenage geek who got into blogging somewhere in 2008, when he was bored enough to become another hipster with their own domain. He quickly went from chill hipster who posts random updates to a professional writer who freelances all over the web.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/author\/jackkieffer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Do You Really Still Need Antivirus Software in 2022? - TechWalls","description":"The last thing you want to do in 2022 is spend money when you don\u2019t have to \u2013 even on an antivirus program. Do you really need one these days, anyway? Don\u2019t phones and computers come with built-in security?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Keffer","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/","url":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/","name":"Do You Really Still Need Antivirus Software in 2022? - TechWalls","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/security-265130_1280.jpg","datePublished":"2022-01-29T18:38:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-29T17:41:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#\/schema\/person\/31a8afbcb7f55b3795f72eb672f03921"},"description":"The last thing you want to do in 2022 is spend money when you don\u2019t have to \u2013 even on an antivirus program. Do you really need one these days, anyway? Don\u2019t phones and computers come with built-in security?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/security-265130_1280.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/security-265130_1280.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/do-you-need-antivirus-software-in-2022\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Do You Really Still Need Antivirus Software in 2022?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/","name":"TechWalls","description":"Technology News | Gadget Reviews | Tutorials","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#\/schema\/person\/31a8afbcb7f55b3795f72eb672f03921","name":"Keffer","description":"Jack Kieffer is a teenage geek who got into blogging somewhere in 2008, when he was bored enough to become another hipster with their own domain. He quickly went from chill hipster who posts random updates to a professional writer who freelances all over the web.","url":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/author\/jackkieffer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}