Anti virus software is a diagnostic tool that is generally included with many operating system software packages. The licenses for the anti virus software might be for one user or assigned to as many as 40 or more users at one time. When computers are melded together on a company network, the threat for computer viruses to spread among numerous computers is incredible. To protect visitors to websites, many companies install anti virus software on the network servers.



Most companies have anti virus checking software running 24-hours a day and the computer user is not aware that it is there. They will be notified through an alert system if a virus, worm, or other malware has been detected and in most cases, a corporation will rely on employees in the computer technologies department to run anti virus diagnostic software to remove the infected files.

People that use computers systems in a home environment must rely on anti virus programs or computer technicians to remove the infected files. This type of virus removal can be costly because the computer technicians usually charge their fees by the hour. The computer user may lose time from work because the computer must be taken to the technician's shop for repairs to be done. This scenario occurs often but can be bypassed, if the computer has anti virus software installed.

Computer users rarely run anti virus software at work and assume that the IT departments will take responsibility for making sure it happens. Checking the computer for viruses is relatively simple because the virus-scanning icon can be placed on the desktop alongside the web browser icon. When an internet connection is present, the web browser will allow users to access the internet each day, and with an anti virus software check first thing in the morning, computer users can perform a variety of tasks and know that their computer system will not infect others on the network.

Computer users can access gaming websites and play games that are loaded on a network server in a business halfway around the world. Thousands of people access these games at one time and this broad exposure to the internet framework makes every computer susceptible to virus infection because users regularly access chat rooms and exchange mail and personal messages with each other every day. This network exchange opens a gateway between users on the network and the probability that someone will be infected with a virus is strong..

The internet access and download capabilities of computers users is one of the prime reasons behind why computer users need protection from computer viruses because viruses and other viral antibodies can be transmitted from web pages that have virus programs embedded into the coding on the page. Some viruses are spread after users open a file attachment in an email and these viruses can destroy an operating system in a matter of minutes.

The anti virus software can be purchased separately, but is often bundled together with other software programs when the computer unit is purchased. A computer user can control how often the anti virus software scans the operating system for virus and other threats. The computer user can also place the anti virus software in the start-up menu on the operating system and it will run automatically each time the computer is restarted. The computer virus diagnostics software can be set to run at a certain time of the day too.