You’ve probably been hearing about antivirus software as long as you’ve had a computer. It’s been a staple of almost every PC since the early 90s.

Antivirus software may already be installed on your computer but here’s what you need to know about how it works and keeps you safe online in the background.

The software, when launched, compares the registry noted date and time with the computer date and time. If the latter is greater, the trial version of the software, also known as trialware, stops ...

This article was originally published with the title “ I Have to Rent My Software Now? How Does That Work? ” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 309 No. 4 (October 2013) doi:10.1038 ...

A computer virus is a software program designed to replicate itself and spread to other machines. In most cases, the program is "malicious," meaning its purpose is to cause the computer ...