Last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the ban on Kaspersky softwareAs of September 29, ZDNET’s Lance Whitney reported, Kaspersky will no longer be able to provide antivirus signature updates and code updates for the banned products to customers in the United States.
When I read that news, I was as shocked as anyone. Did someone accidentally press a button that transported us back to 1999? Do people still pay for third-party antivirus software?
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Apparently people do, but good luck finding reliable information about the antivirus software market in 2024. Most of the data I was able to discover came courtesy of the developers of said software, which is not the most reliable source.
Antivirus software in numbers
TO Recent survey conducted by Security.org Some figures appeared about the US market that seem credible. The survey indicates that approximately 54% of Americans use the default antivirus protection that comes with the device they use, while 46% use third-party antivirus programs.
But of those people who go to the trouble of installing additional protection, only a little more than half (33 million households) pay for the privilege. Norton and McAfee together represent 52% of paying customers, while Kaspersky represents just 4% of the market. If those numbers are accurate, 1.3 million Americans should be able to demand a refund from Kaspersky by the end of this year.
And here’s the part that caught my attention from that report:
Older Americans are much more likely to use third-party antivirus programs and pay for the software. Those over 65 are twice as likely to subscribe to paid antivirus services as those under 45.
That demographic is also more likely to still be paying for a landline, and the chances of you getting stuck behind a person over 65 writing a check at the grocery store are, by my calculations, about a million times greater than the odds that you’ll experience the same thing with someone under 45.
To be honest, I’m over 65, I have a head full of gray hair, and I haven’t used third-party antivirus software in decades. But my silver-haired companions continue to pay. Because? For the same reason they still listen to AM radio. It’s what they grew up with and it makes them feel comfortable.
It’s also a huge waste of money.
How to protect your technology in 2024
Regardless of the device category we’re talking about, you’re likely to have no problem with the default protection that’s included as part of the platform. On a mobile device (iOS or Android), that means the app store run by the operating system developer. On a Mac, XProtect anti-malware technology has been around for over a decade and is effective against most common threats.
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And as for Windows? Well, Microsoft Defender Antivirus, which is included with all Windows PCs, routinely passes tests from third-party labs set up to measure the effectiveness of security software. The improvement process began about seven years ago and the Microsoft solution has regularly scored between 99% and 100% Since then, making it as effective as its third-party rivals, free or paid.
And that result even underestimates reality.
In the early 21st century, when the Windows PC landscape was at its wildest and most confusing, most malware arrived on people’s PCs as email attachments or over networks. Today, those vectors are effectively closed. Automatic updates protect against newly discovered vulnerabilities. Your modern email client blocks any type of attached executable file, including script-based files. And network firewalls have come a long way since (see calendar) 2002. And recent test results show that Microsoft Defender is Effective at blocking all popular attack vectors. for Data ransom and information thieves.
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On average, a modern antivirus application blocks 99.2% of the few incoming threats that make it past the other layers of protection. And even then, your own instincts (“Don’t click on that link!”) are also effective. That’s why the modern, fully patched consumer PC is not really a target of the criminal gangs responsible for modern malware.
The main objectives
Most of these attacks are launched by sophisticated criminal gangs and target businesses, using vulnerabilities that are more likely to be in third-party software than in the operating system itself. russian hackers used SolarWinds management software to hack Microsoft and other high-value targets. A widely used application called Move itof Progress Software, was Exploited in a breach that affected thousands of large companies and government agencies last year, and there is a new vulnerability that was just reported.
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Shell. British Airways. The BBC. The Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Those were the victims of the MOVEit attack, not random PC users. Today, that’s the kind of target big cybercriminals focus on. A signature-based antivirus application won’t provide protection against such targeted attacks. Instead, IT departments at large organizations need sophisticated network-based software that lets administrators monitor for signs of intrusion in real time.
Low-profile users are reasonably well protected thanks to default security measures, mainly because determined attackers see no economic benefit in targeting such insignificant victims. If you’re still paying for Norton, McAfee, or Kaspersky for antivirus protection on your home PC, it may be time to let that subscription lapse. But if your work IT department tells you they want you to install an endpoint monitoring app, believe them.
Just make sure it’s not from Kaspersky.