Don't Up the Ante-Virus

Antivirus programs do exactly what they say they do: they keep viruses away from your computer. Many people have them on their computer because it came with it. If you have an HP or a Dell computer, you likely still have McAfee installed. You didn't want it, but they put it there because it makes the companies money.

What is an antivirus?

Antivirus software blocks viruses from taking effect on your computer. Viruses can do immeasurable damage to your computer and commonly reap all of the data from your computer. That data contains possible tax records, photos of your kids, passwords to your favorite websites, and your cryptocurrency wallets. If you have an antivirus, you likely don't have to worry about any of this, as they're doing their best to remove the problematic files before they're executed.

Should I invest in an antivirus?

Unless you're technologically inept, you don't need an antivirus at all. Computers nowadays are already quite secure and don't need them. Windows, the operating system you likely use, also has their own built-in antivirus, Windows Defender. Windows Defender does a great job at what it does and frequently does better than most 3rd party antivirus programs. If you use Linux, on the other hand, you don't have a preinstalled antivirus in most cases. Luckily for you, if you're using Linux, you're likely not technologically inept and can figure out if you should install a program or not. Many viruses don't target Linux machines anyway. The real problem comes from somewhere else:

Social Engineering

Social engineering is the act of manipulating another person into believing you're someone that you're not. This is commonly used in spam calls and E-Mails. Do you remember getting that phone call about a fraudulent charge on your card? Or maybe that text saying you needed to pay a toll? Those are forms of social engineering. They are making you believe that they are someone they are not: in these cases, your bank or the government. Social engineering, in recent years, has become a significantly larger problem. Why need an antivirus when you'll let people into your computer willingly?

Scammers often make their way through these phone calls to have you install a Remote Access software. When you install this software, you give them full access to your computer. From there, they can do much more manipulation. They frequently black out your screen and change things while you're unable to do anything about it.

Luckily, there are people deceiving the deceivers. Many YouTubers make content about them wasting these scammers' time. Some YouTubers include:

• Kitboga
• Scammer Payback (High quality production)
• Jim Browning
• ScammerRevolts

All of these YouTubers help others by using the scammer's valuable time.

Whether it's a virus claiming your data as its own, or a scammer taking your money, there is something you can do about it. Antivirus software, in today's world, isn't strictly necessary to have as long as you know what you're doing. Social engineering only works if you don't fully understand what's going on.