The History of Anti-virus software

Most people who own personal computers are very aware of viruses that can come onto one computer. As a result of this knowledge, they usually want to make sure that they are protected. To make sure that they are protected, they will want to have anti-virus software on their computer. The antivirus software industry has certainly changed a lot over the past few years. To understand the changes that have occurred in the antivirus industry over the years, it is important to be able to take a look at the past.

It has only been in the past 15 years or so that people around the world have had widespread access to the internet. During this time, there has been an explosion in the amount of viruses that are out there. During the early years of the computer generation though, viruses were not as common. Before access to the internet became very common, most viruses were spread from computer to computer with the use of corrupted floppy disks. People of course don't spread viruses from floppy disks today, because floppy disks are not widely available any more. As computers started to get more advanced in the early 1990's, antivirus software began to come to the market. The early years of antivirus software were not very good, because they were not updated very often. In addition, newer and more advanced applications such as word programs and e-mail technology helped to allow viruses to spread quickly to other computers. In the past decade, antivirus software has really started to improve. There is more customer support and there is more regular updates that are done in order to protect people and their equipment. While there has been a lot of progress, viruses are still a major problem. This is because the world counts more and more on technology in order to get things done. In addition, hackers and people that work to evade antivirus software are working literally around the clock in order to beat antivirus software that is currently available on the open market. Antivirus software as a result will also have to improve in order to try to stay one step ahead.