Last month, the United States Department of Commerce announced a ban on Kaspersky software.
As of September 29, ZDNET's Lance Whitney reported, Kaspersky will no longer be able to provide antivirus signature updates and code updates for the banned products to customers in the United States.
Apparently people do, but good luck finding reliable information on the market for antivirus software in 2024.
Most of the data I was able to uncover came courtesy of the developers of said software, which is not the most reliable source.
That survey says roughly 54% of Americans use the default virus protection that comes with the device they're using, while 46% use third-party antivirus programs.
Of those people who go to the trouble of installing extra protection, only a little more than half pay for the privilege.
Older Americans are significantly more likely to use third-party antivirus programs and pay for the software.
That demographic is also more likely to still pay for a landline, and the chances you'll get stuck behind an over-65 person who's writing a check at the grocery store are, by my estimation, about a million times higher than the odds you'll experience the same thing with a person under 45.
Full disclosure here: I'm in the over-65 demographic, with a full head of gray hair, and I haven't used third-party antivirus software in decades.
Regardless of which device category we're talking about here, you're likely to be just fine with the default protection that's included as part of the platform.
The leveling-up process started about seven years ago, and the Microsoft solution has regularly scored between 99% and 100% since then, making it every bit as effective as third-party rivals, free or paid.
Recent test results show that Microsoft Defender is effective at blocking all of the most popular attack vectors for ransomware and info stealers.
On average, a modern antivirus app blocks 99.2% of the very few incoming threats that get past the other layers of protection.
Most of those attacks are launched by sophisticated criminal gangs and are aimed at businesses, using vulnerabilities that are more likely to be in third-party software than they are in the OS itself.
Russian hackers used SolarWinds management software to hack Microsoft and other high-value targets.
A widely used app called MOVEit, from Progress Software, was exploited in a breach that affected thousands of big companies and government agencies last year, and there's a brand-new vulnerability that has just been reported.
A signature-based antivirus app isn't going to provide protection against those targeted attacks.
Instead, IT departments in large organizations need sophisticated network-based software that allows administrators to monitor for signs of an intrusion in real time.
Small fry users are reasonably well protected via default security measures, mostly because determined attackers see no financial benefit in picking on such puny victims.
If you're still paying Norton, McAfee, or Kaspersky for antivirus protection on your home PC, maybe it's time to let that subscription expire.
This Cyber News was published on www.zdnet.com. Publication date: Mon, 01 Jul 2024 15:10:05 +0000