An antivirus suite is undoubtedly one of the safest bets to protect your system, data, and online identity. It offers protection against viruses and malware attacks, especially those carried out by less experienced hackers.

But as cyberattacks become more sophisticated, antivirus protection alone is no longer enough. The threat landscape is evolving so drastically that antivirus software can't really keep the pace.

Although you should definitely be running an antivirus and malware suite, here are some reasons why it isn't going to protect you on its own.

The Growing Number of New Threats

A magnifying glass pointing to insider threat.

The typical antivirus software can effectively protect against the majority of known threats. However, you need to worry about the new and unknown threats. According to AV-Test, over 450,000 new malware and potentially unwanted applications are registered every day. With such a massive number of new malware variants, it's unrealistic to pin all your hopes on an antivirus suite alone for protection.

Installing an antivirus isn't enough because security vendors first need to figure out how a particular malware works before they can tailor the software to identify and neutralize it. Malware authors are aware of this, and release new threats to avoid detection.

Phishing Attacks

fifa 22 phishing theft feature
Image Credit: Modvector/Shutterstock

Phishing is a social engineering attack often used to harvest login credentials and credit card numbers. The attacker typically masquerades as a trusted entity, particularly a company or a bank, and convinces users to click on a malicious link.

Unfortunately, an antivirus suite can do very little to protect you against the wide range of phishing attacks (although many automatically scan downloads). Spam filters can mitigate phishing emails but can't keep them out altogether. The best practice is to avoid clicking on links in unsolicited emails, even if they appear to be coming from a company you do business with.

Delete emails containing malicious links without reading them because some attackers can even incorporate pixels into their emails that inform them if you read the message. This tells them they have a legitimate address that they can retry or sell to other scammers.

Malvertising

Malvertising is a form of cyberattack that comes from online ads on legitimate websites. Cybercriminals launch malvertising attacks by buying ad space on networks and then submitting ads with malicious codes. As a user clicks on the ad, it loads and infects your PC before you can discover and remove it.

Browser-Based Attacks

Browser-based attacks usually occur due to cloned websites and malicious extensions or add-ons. A cloned website is a duplicate of the original website with file names and content identical to the original site.

Always double check you're on the website that you think you are before entering your credentials. Look for typos in the URL as most scammers use typosquatting to register domains closely resembling other popular domains.

While some antivirus programs provide ad-blockers and URL-checker tools, it's pretty much accepted they can't prevent sophisticated browser-based attacks. Therefore, always install add-ons from credible developers and keep your browser updated to get all security patches.

What Else Do You Need Besides an Antivirus Suite?

While we recommend using antivirus software as part of your cybersecurity strategy, relying on a single piece of software for protection isn't a good idea. Here are a few more tools you can use to keep the bad guys out of your network.

VPN

Hand holding a cellphone with a shield logo on display

A VPN or Virtual Private Network is an essential tool for privacy protection. It encrypts your data online and redirects it through a secure server hosted by the vendor. VPN encryption means that no one can read or use your data without an encryption key, even if they intercept it. It does so by creating an encryption tunnel.

Apart from data encryption, a VPN masks your real IP address and replaces it with an IP of your choice, making you virtually untraceable. There are both free and paid VPNs on the market, but the free services usually have data and bandwidth caps that limit user experience.

We recommend a premium service for complete protection across PCs, tablets, and smartphones.

Two-Factor Authentication

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security to protect your online accounts. With 2FA, your protection goes beyond just a username and password, as you'll need something like an app to approve requests.

When using 2FA, a potential compromise of a single factor won't allow cybercriminals access to your account. So, even if you lose your phone or password, the chances of someone else accessing your account are negligible.

Password Manager

We use countless websites and services that require a username and password. Managing and remembering all the login information can be tricky if you don't use a password manager.

Many people are tempted to use the same password on multiple websites and services, but it poses a serious security threat. If hackers break any of your passwords, they will try it against other services and steal your accounts.

A password manager automatically creates a new and strong password for every account and saves it in a secure vault. It's fully encrypted, so even if a hacker bypasses your anti-malware protection, they still won't be able to recover your passwords.

If you aren't sure how to organize your password manager vault, fear not: it's pretty easy to keep it nice and tidy.

System Back-Ups

backing up your files to the cloud

As they say, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. In the unfortunate event of a virus attack or a data leak, you should be able to recover your files and operating system back to its original state.

Backing up your data is the safest way to ensure that you're being proactive about data security. We recommend routinely making copies of critical information that can be used to restore the original data.

Although you can manually back up single files, it's better to automate the process so that no files are missed and the backup is performed on a regular basis.

Never Compromise on Online Security

The threat landscape is constantly evolving, and a simple antivirus suite is no more entirely sufficient to protect you against emerging threats. Even paid antivirus tools don't uniformly stand a chance against sophisticated phishing scams and identity theft.

You need a VPN, two-factor authentication, and overall system backups for total protection. You also need to routinely check your system and network for cyber hygiene and devise a prevention strategy suited to your needs.