If there is a very important factor to keep our equipment in good working order, it is safety. We must at all times avoid the entry of malware, viruses and Trojans that can affect us in our day to day life. We could be victims of multiple attacks that in one way or another could put our systems at risk. For this, to be protected, we can use a good antivirus . Now, how do you know if it works correctly? We are going to talk about this in this article.
How to see if the antivirus works well
It is useless to have an antivirus installed and it is not working. It would not protect us from threats of any kind and would be useless. Therefore, it is important to know at all times if you are acting correctly, if you are protecting our privacy and security. In case of detecting that something is wrong, we should act as soon as possible.
We are going to show some interesting options that we have to see if our antivirus is working well. Some simple and basic steps, as well as some tests that we can carry out to check the performance of our security software.
Before starting, keep in mind that there are many antiviruses that exist and not all of them work the same. However, there are some methods that we can use in all of them and put their effectiveness to the test.
Access the antivirus
A first step is simply to enter the antivirus. We have to access the program , the configuration, and verify that it is active and analyzing for threats. The latter is very important, since having the program started is not the same as actually looking for threats.
We must see that we have the software correctly started. Normally this type of program usually has a button with which you can easily pause or stop it. It is something that may sometimes be necessary if you are conflict with some type of software.
The exact location may depend on the program, but is usually found in the settings or configuration menu. There we can see all the information about the activity of the software, see if it is working or not and even see a log with everything that has been done and check that it is really working well.
Check if Windows Defender works
Windows Defender is undoubtedly the most popular antivirus for Microsoft‘s operating system. It comes integrated and is a very interesting option to maintain security at all times. It helps us detect malware and remove it as soon as possible.
We can easily check whether it is working or not. We could have some incorrect configuration, some malware that has even been able to deactivate it or any issue that causes it not to work as it should.
To see it we have to go to Start, open Settings, go to Update and security, Windows Security, Antivirus and threat protection and Manage settings . There we will see different options and we will check if they are activated or not, such as real-time protection.
See if the process is active in our team
An also very simple way to check if the antivirus is active and working correctly is to see if the program process is started in Windows. This will give us clues as to whether it is really acting or for some reason it is stopped and is not analyzing files or protecting our equipment on the network.
To do this in Windows we have to go to the Task Manager. We can go to Start, look for Task Manager and open it. In the Processes tab we will have to look for the one that corresponds to our antivirus and see if it is really started or not.
Download a test file
One more interesting option that we have to see if the antivirus is active and working well is to test it with a “malicious” file. It is a document that we can download and that simulates being malware . Automatically the security software should detect it and alert that there is a risk and block it.
In EICAR they have test files. You simply have to enter your website and on the right you will see different ZIP and text files that we can download to our computer.
Automatically an image like the one we see above should appear. An antivirus alert should jump us, which in our case is Windows Defender, indicating that a threat has been detected and has been eliminated.
If, on the other hand, we manage to download that file without problems, it would mean that the security program we are using does not act correctly. Keep in mind that these files are not going to be a real threat at any time.
Tips for the antivirus to work well
We have shown how we can see if the antivirus is working correctly and therefore protecting our equipment. Now we are going to give a series of recommendations to ensure that everything works well and not have any type of problem.
Keep the program always updated
A first tip, something very important that we must apply in all kinds of programs that we are using, is to keep the antivirus always updated . It is what will allow us to have the database ready to detect the most recent threats, in addition to correcting possible problems that may arise.
Download only from trusted sources
Of course we must also install the security program from official , reliable sources and avoid third-party sites that can be a problem. We do not know if the software we are installing could have been maliciously modified or will have added functions that we are not interested in.
Inform us on the Internet about the antivirus
Before installing any antivirus we can find out on the Internet. A simple Google search can come in handy to see comments from other users and learn about how it works. We may find information that can help us choose a specific antivirus.
Verify that the configuration is correct
Another very important question is to verify that the configuration is correct. Sometimes we have different adjustments that we can make in order to achieve optimal operation. However, it may happen that we have not configured it correctly, that we have made a mistake, etc.
Therefore, these are some important questions that we must always bear in mind to ensure that the antivirus works properly. After all, it is a fundamental program for our security, to avoid very diverse problems.
