The most important feature of Kaspersky Anti-Virus is its ability to detect, prevent and remove viruses, which it does so well that no competing virus protection does better. However, it goes beyond antivirus to include protection from all malware, including spyware, rootkits, security exploits and screen lockers. A brief definition of terms might be in order. A virus is a computer program that, when invoked, copies itself onto data files or any location from which it can continue to spawn clones or modified versions of itself. Spyware is not necessarily illegal, but it is annoying in that it gathers information about you and sends it to someone else without your knowledge, let alone your consent. Rootkits dig deeply into the operating system areas that only administrators can access and use this privileged position to gain control over the system. Security exploits take advantage of vulnerabilities in software applications or data. Screen lockers let hackers scam you with ransomware that locks your screen and usually accuses you of having illegal pornography on your computer. The scam tells you where to send money in order to have the screen unlocked so that you can continue to access your files. Along these lines, new in the 2015 version of Kaspersky Anti-Virus is that it makes backup copies of files before malicious encryption, which means that even if you are attacked by ransomware, you can restore all of the files held hostage without sending money to the bad guys.
Kaspersky includes a virtual keyboard in order to prevent another form of malware called a keylogger. Since keyloggers monitor the keys you physically press on your keyboard, they can infer your logins and passwords and credit card numbers. Kaspersky’s virtual keyboard lets you enter information into an onscreen keyboard, which bypasses the physical keyboard and prevents keylogging. In addition to its antimalware features, Kaspersky Anti-Virus provides antiphishing, which means that it warns you about the safety of sites that show up when you conduct an online search, and it blocks your access if you try to go to a site known to be malicious..