What Is The Difference Between Antivirus And Internet Security?

Most of us would be familiar with a antivirus software but may not know much about internet security. So many people would be trying to find out the differences between an antivirus and internet security and want to know which one offers best security for their computer. Let’s discuss about all the differences between the two software in detail.

To start with both the antivirus software and internet security software are almost the same while the latter has some additional features to offer compared to the former. Well internet security is something that came into fame in the recent time after the advancement of internet. So many of us might not know what an internet security is and how it is different from an antivirus.

Protection:

Both antivirus and internet security protect the system from malware attack. While antivirus can protect the PC from only the virus that it knows, internet security can provide protection against any type of malware like Trojans, worms, spyware, rootkit etc. For example an internet security software can block a dangerous URL which the user is trying to open whereas a antivirus can only warn the user and it won’t block it.

Features:

It can be noted that both the antivirus and internet security provide some basic set of features that are necessary for protecting the computer from any external attack. An Internet security offers some additional features that are capable of providing total security to the user over the internet. It protects the user from hackers and cybercriminals using its firewall and antiphishing features and thus enabling a secure online transaction and social networking sessions.

Some of the internet security products also offer parental controls that allows the parents to block some specific site from being watched by their kids when they are online. It also allows them to control their online activity remotely. Internet security also offers a file shredder feature which allows the user to delete the file in such a way that no one can recreate it.

Nowadays most of the Security software manufacturers were able to provide some features like firewall and antiphishing with their antivirus product itself which were earlier found only in an internet security.

Performance:

In terms of performance Antivirus software usually performs a little better compared to an internet security. An internet security software usually occupies more CPU and slows down the system performance. A custom scan of an internet security takes more time than antivirus software because of the huge area it scans. The installation also takes more time for Internet security because of its additional features.

Price:

Usually an Internet security is little bit expensive when compared to an antivirus software. This difference in the cost is mainly because of the protection it offers to the system. An internet security cannot be found in the internet for free whereas an antivirus software is available for free download. But it is advisable to buy the software rather than downloading it for free from the internet if you need a better protection against the malware threats, because a free antivirus may not perform with its full capability.

Conclusion:

These are some of the basic difference between the two. Choosing the best one is mostly dependent upon the needs of the user. If you are online for most of the time and you have lot of online transactions to be done then Internet security is the best choice for you. On the other hand if you are not connected to the internet or you use internet for a minimal time then Antivirus software is more than sufficient. So sort out your needs first and decide which one best suite your needs before making a purchase.