Anti-Malware Software (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE ICT)

Revision Note

Robert Hampton

Expertise

Computer Science Content Creator

Anti-Malware Software

What is anti-malware software?

  • Anti-malware software is a term used to describe a combination of different software to prevent computers from being susceptible to viruses and other malicious software

  • The different software anti-malware includes are

    • Anti-virus 

    • Anti-spam 

    • Anti-spyware 

How does anti-malware work?

  • Anti-malware scans through email attachments, websites and downloaded files to search for threats

  • Anti-malware software has a list of known malware signatures to block immediately if they try to access your device in any way

  • Anti-malware will also perform checks for updates to ensure the database of known issues is up to date

  • Anti-malware will quarantine infected files

    • Quarantining files allows threats to be automatically deleted

    • Allows the user to determine if the file is a legitimate threat and not a false positive

  • Anti-malware can make use of heuristic checking

    • The identification of potential threats within a file from behavioural patterns and characteristics rather than just relying on a database of known viruses

Worked Example

Give two examples of how Anti-Malware protects devices against malicious software

[4]

Answer

Regular updates by the Anti-Malware software will keep an up to date list of threats [1]

If any of the threats are detected on the device, the Anti-Malware software will quarantine the files [1]

Anti-Malware software will scan external storage media when they are connected to the device [1]

Preventing viruses from being transferred from storage media onto the device [1]

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Robert Hampton

Author: Robert Hampton

Rob has over 16 years' experience teaching Computer Science and ICT at KS3 & GCSE levels. Rob has demonstrated strong leadership as Head of Department since 2012 and previously supported teacher development as a Specialist Leader of Education, empowering departments to excel in Computer Science. Beyond his tech expertise, Robert embraces the virtual world as an avid gamer, conquering digital battlefields when he's not coding.