UNIT 29 D1 - Justify a particular installation or upgrade - ALL ASSIGNMENTS HERE!! PASS, MERITS AND DISTINCTIONS

UNIT 29 D1 - Justify a particular installation or upgrade

>>Click Here if you want to have UNIT 29 D1 in a word document<<

The internet to day has grown so rapidly that it is too big to control. Nowadays more the 1.8 billion people on earth are connected to the internet and it’s not just people on the net just to play games and watch videos of cats, but shopping has extended out of the shops to screens as well. With so many people on the internet at one time and technology growing at a quick speed, it gives hackers a door to a huge playground to do as they please. This brings a new type of threat of pleasure for hackers to dip their fingers to.  Threats that these people try and implement are the type that can ruin anyone’s life and severely harm them and their reputation. From using the internet for everything like connecting with friends and also seeing your banking information was never a good idea to have on the same place because it would make easier for someone to steal your identity. So to stop this kind of thing from happening there was a need for a virtual barrier to be put in place to stop people from coming in. Software that was made and named ‘antivirus software’ but does it comes with more cons the pros? …

The way anti-virus software was designed was to run a specific job of protecting a user’s computer system from threats obtained from the internet and even files that either downloaded of the internet or any external source. The way it does this is by working in a number of ways of shielding itself; normally starting off with an anti-virus firewall, search protecting system that scans files and eliminates threats and informs a user if a website is safe or not. The software would need to connect with the main server through the internet to gain information of new viruses that are brand new to help protect the user’s computer system. If the anti-virus software didn’t receive an update about new viruses then the software would just the new viruses though to play havoc on the user’s computer system. From once the computer is turned on the software will run in the background and actively scan files that were recently downloaded or even a website recently visited, and then quarantines threats that show up. Anti-virus software in one of the most important types of software to have on a user’s system and it comes with many different advantages that it has:

Protection

The software provides protection from online threats from hackers that know how to take your personal details to harm your reputation. It also protects the system from viruses that install backdoor files that are designed to cause harm to any computer system and can/will ruin hardware. This would mean you can use the internet without that much of a worry and have a peace of mind that you’re being protected with updates letting you know what is going on by the software provider.

Implementing a scan

Say a user feels that their computer has been affected by a threat then they can use the software to start a scan on their system anywhere on their computer or even scan the whole of the computer. There are a number of scans computer software can do which are a quick scan, location scan and or even a deep thorough scan. If a user downloads allot of files daily they can scan any files straight after they have downloaded a file to see if any threats linger within the file.

Is expensive better?

There are quite allot of antivirus software out in the market at good prices where you don’t have to pay allot for the software and there aren’t any annual monthly free as well. To add to that there are even some antivirus software that are free to download, install and provide the same level of protection as its paid competitors. The proven point that a monthly fee has to be paid will delete the need to purchase any other antivirus software because the subscription software will be updated with new threats. Having antivirus software not only protects the user from external threats but also help the computer from being destroyed which consequently means that the user will not have to spend any more money on a new system or hardware which isn’t cost effective at all..

Peace of mind

Once the anti-virus software is installed a user will not have to worry anymore about it, because the software works in real time, all a user would just have to do is to leave it running in the back ground to do everything that it is programmed to do. Actively monitoring traffic, scanning files, blocking, catching threats that enter the system, maintenance checks/scans and updating its virus threats bank to keep up to date with the threats that are out there...

Like anything in life no such thing is perfect, this even applies to software that is installed on a user’s computer system, which may have many faults lingering from the antivirus that was installed or this could also result in what type of software it is itself, this could also be simple some wrong code within the antivirus software:

Over Priced?

When it comes to the phrase “you get what you pay for” relates to antivirus software because some top named antivirus software are expensive to buy for people with a huge income. Other antivirus software are a onetime payment (generally pricy), while others are on subscription based which are usually paid for monthly. This can end up to be too expensive which could end up being problematic in this day and age. To add to that there are many other cheaper antivirus software’s on the market granted they might not compare with the pricy ones but they still do the job they’re given, but that is why users’ would have to spend more for a better level of protection.  ….

Consummation

Whenever a user starts up their computer the antivirus software starts to boot up as well and will continually continue to run in the background until the computer shuts down. There only way a user can stop the software from running would be to uninstall the software completely or to stop the process through the task manager. Because the software will run in the background, the software takes up memory from the RAM which the computer needs to keep itself running smoothly. Even though computer systems are coming equipped with 6GB ram being default, some older computers and or mobile devices are limited to the RAM that they were made with or their limits they were given, this in turn could slow down the computer immensely due to the older computer or mobiles devices not being able to cope with the given task….

Software clash

Sometimes when you have an antivirus installed there could be a clash of software’s between the antivirus and another software and this could interfere with each other allot rendering both software’s semi unusable. To add to that antivirus software like computer operating systems like Windows  will have a firewall which will not allot the software access out of the intranet unless instructed; to do this the user would either have to turn off the firewall or go in to the firewalls setting an adjust it. If kept on the firewall could stop gamers or people accessing the internet through other software…

Always connected

Antivirus would need to be connected to the internet to be at its peak; the reason being is because it would need to be consistently updated to know about the latest viruses out to protect the user.  The user would either need to download the update or install the update from a different external source. If the user does not have internet then they don’t need a consistent up date.

I have been given a task to justify the reason why the managers should install antivirus software within their computers. For my task I am going to test a number of antivirus software to find out what is the best one for the managers computers. I have tested a number of anti-virus software a found that “Avast” came with the best results. What I would propose for the managers because they have not got any security software in place is the anti-virus software called “Avast” and the reason being why I would tell them to install this piece of anti-virus software is because it will protect their computer system to the best that is possible within the industry. Avast comes in 3 options some are paid and others are free; I am going to choose the best one out of the three options for the managers:

1.       Avast Essential – comes with Intelligent Antivirus protection, Anti-malware Protection, anti-spyware & anti-rootkit. This package is the simplest choice of the 3 options and the cheapest being free which just protects the system from viruses, spyware and hackers. This Avast essential package software would mainly be recommended to individuals that use their computers ever so often to everyday use as their computers will have protection that will give them a good protection level which stops intruders. This level of protection is not computer resource consuming and the software does not take allot of space within the computer as the size of the antivirus is only 90MB.

2.       All-Inclusive Avast antivirus – comes with Intelligent Antivirus, Anti-malware Protection, anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, Safe Zone, Silent Firewall and Anti-spam. With this antivirus software package protection option comes with allot more than the free package and helps protect the computer system even more to a higher degree; even though this level of protection will cost a user £39.99 a year as this is a subscription. This type of protection will mostly be aimed at people who surf the internet allot while also shopping and banking online too, this higher level of protection comes equipped with “Safezone”. Safezone will protect users’ from the latest viruses like CryptoLocker and GameOver Zeus; these viruses can ruin an individual’s system by locking down and encrypting their computers and rendering their computers useless. This software also comes with Silent Firewall and anti-spam that helps further the protection of the system as these play an important role from keeping a system safe.  This piece of software is ideal for people who like to do things in one place and are always busy, as the added protection will be able to stomp out intruders’ and keep their system running at tip top condition. This level of security

3.       Top-Notch Avast antivirus – With this antivirus protection software it comes with both the previous protection packages but with more features that are intended to heavily secure and protect data and personal things. This level of protection will make it really hard for an intruder to come in and set up shop as the software is really quick at making decisions based on a algorithm; also the software comes equipped with a military grade permanent deletion as files could be very sensitive and not needed anymore. The software is able to update other software that is on a computer as viruses and malware threats are able to exploit security holes in outdated versions of software, which would be a handy thing to have as it saves time, is convenient and tightens the security of a system. The buyer is given so many good features from the software like the ability to run software downloaded from the internet that many have viruses within a safe environment to further protect your computer and also to be able to control your computer while you’re on the other side of the world is given to you by Avasts highest security protection software. This piece of software would be ideal for people who either have their own private company or a person whom wants to be secure while using their computer. This piece of software is subscription based and the price is £49.99 annually.

I have analyzed a number of popular anti-virus software packages’ that is currently out in the market today to see which one is best for the managers. What I looked for in the right antivirus software was, price, how fast they scan, how hardware demanding it is, different types of protection it gives, highest virus detected, easy to use, software clash and how often are the updates. When going through my testing from the antivirus software’s I found that the antivirus software package “Top-Notch” came out top ranking throughout all the tests with the exception of £49.99 which is just collateral. On this alone I would convince the managers to purchase and install this antivirus software package as the software would protect their computer systems’ in a huge amount of ways from stopping, hackers, viruses, spyware, malware,  CryptoLocker and GameOver Zeus and phishing from ruining their computers and business. As an added bonus the software can also permanently delete sensitive files with its Military-grade deletion incorporated within the software, which is great for the managers if they need files that no longer need using at the time or in the future.    

This software package will protect the managers from hugely affecting viruses known as CryptoLocker and GameOver Zeus. The virus Gameover Zeus is a form of malware that uses "spear-fishing" or fake emails to infect computers with a virus. Once infected, hackers are able to hijack computer sessions and steal confidential and personal financial information to funnel money. The Cryptolocker virus works slightly differently. When Gameover Zeus cannot locate any financial information on a computer, some strains of the malware will install Cryptolocker – a "ransomware" program that locks a user's machine until a fee is paid. This software package will stop these types of viruses from entering and attacking the managers systems as it has a smart protection system in place to detect viruses like this, which provides the managers a wide level of protection.

Yes the antivirus software protection package “Top-Notch” has its bad points as it may seem a bit too costly for the managers to maintain the subscription, but they could sort out a payment plan with the software company if they pay a bulk payment that covers over a 3 year period or longer for £300 or so which in the long period will turn out to be a good investment as the software will keep protecting their computer system, to allow their business to keep running for a long period and that alone should be a good justification to install this antivirus software. If the managers are still not sure whether to purchase the software or not, they will be able to use a trial version of the full antivirus protection package software to see the benefits themselves.

When it comes to antivirus software or any software, there will always be good and bad points after the installation. The software comes with an importance to help protect a computer system and with this importance, companies monetize for different reason on the protection by adding a cost. Even though it may not protect your computer in a whole but it does protect it to a certain point against main threats that helps keep a user’s and companies computers system alive. The internet is in use 24 hours a day, so the software would help and is proven to be valuable so just being protected alone will outweigh the cons from the antivirus software. By a user protecting himself also protects many other users on the internet because they stop themselves being attacked which lowers the risk of friends and family being infected. I would advise everyone to do the research first before purchasing any antivirus software and try them before you decide to make a purchase.