What is the difference between antimalware and antivirus?

Find out what they are, how they work, and why you need the features of both.

A long time ago, when artificial intelligence was only seen in movies and when you could choose the color of your Mac to match it to the walls of your room, everything was less complex, including viruses. Threat detection was very simple, basically, it consisted of tracking down lines of computer code with worms and other viruses similar to the famous Creeper.

Today, however, the original structure of a virus has become almost obsolete, while more advanced and dangerous forms of malware take hold. A virus is actually a type of malware, while not all malware are viruses. To deepen this topic that continues to puzzle entire generations, we want to answer the question, what is the difference between an antivirus program and antimalware?

At first, cybersecurity companies became famous thanks to a proven and effective antivirus model, designed to meet all detection needs regardless of computer system and its use. Later, threats and cyberattacks began to evolve, so companies such as Panda Security maintained the name "antivirus" so as not to create misunderstandings in the public but expanding its functionality more and more, even beyond the detection of viruses itself.

One way to see it is this: you can find antimalware tools within antivirus software, but not in all of them. Malware removal tools and antivirus programs are complementary and work together to maximize the level of security of computer systems.

Malware or virus?

Computer viruses switch between users by programming a file. Antiviruses are used to detect known threats using the so-called signature-based system. This detection method compares file signatures to those in a known malware database. Instead, antimalware software uses a heuristic-based detection type to proactively search for potentially dangerous portions of source code.

Are antimalware and antivirus the same thing?

Theoretically not, but today the boundary between these two types of programs is increasingly labile, and the two terms are practically used interchangeably. In fact, both antivirus and antimalware were created to find dangerous programs and protect computer systems from this type of threat. As we mentioned above, although the term antivirus indicates that the program protects against computer viruses, modern antiviruses include many malware protection tools.

From here on, in order not to create confusion, we will use the word antivirus to refer only to programs that do NOT have antimalware features.

So the answer is NO: antivirus and antimalware are not the same thing. They are two essential and complementary components of a good protection system against malicious programs, to which we must also add the adoption of good online habits. Antimalware software can detect advanced forms of malware and cyber threats, such as zero-day attacks, while the effectiveness of antiviruses depends 100% on the quality of the reference database.

What exactly does antivirus mean?

Simple antivirus programs scan your device for known viruses. Usually, free antiviruses offer a minimum level of protection against better-known viruses such as keyloggers and worms, while paid versions also protect against more advanced threats, and as we've seen, include antimalware features.

What is an antimalware program?

Malicious programs evolve all the time, just like any other area of ​​software. Antimalware is developed with new threats and new digital infection mechanisms in mind. In a sense, we can say that antimalware protects us from second generation malware, which classic antiviruses are unable to detect.

What should a good antivirus include?

To understand if your antivirus or the one you want to try to download is effective and complete, make sure it has the following features:

• Real-time scanning. Continuous, background scanning helps detect threats as they come into contact with your system.

• Automatic updates. They are very important because malware is produced continuously and to be protected it is essential that the software is able to recognize even the most recent forms.

• Threat removal. There are some programs that can only detect malware, but are unable to remove it from your computer. Of course, our advice is to choose antimalware that includes this all-important feature.

What should good antimalware software include?

You can purchase software dedicated to malware protection only, or you can install an antivirus with additional features. The important thing is that the program you choose includes:

• Sandbox: A separate, controlled environment where software examines potential threats to see if they should be quarantined and removed.

• Traffic filter: protects you by blocking access to suspicious servers and sites that could spread malware.

• Proactive security: The software you choose must scan, detect and remove known malware, such as Trojans, adware, and spyware.

What to choose: antivirus, antimalware or both?

If you have the option, we recommend that you install both. Antimalware focuses on new threats, while antivirus protects you from more traditional ones like worms and phishing attacks. These two types of programs are complementary, but it is clear that in today's computing ecosystem it is necessary to be able to rely on intelligent and powerful antimalware, capable of recognizing new forms of malicious code.

We can see antivirus protection as the first defense system, after which we will need antimalware to remove software that is already activated and functioning. Having both programs on your computer greatly reduces the risk of cyberattacks.

However, to conclude, we want to remind you how important the human factor is. Even if you have the most powerful antivirus in the world, you need to know the digital world well and avoid dangerous behavior online.