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Anti-virus software prevents infection by crippling the usual
functioning of the computer. "Good" software may be prevented from
functioning for fear that it may be a "virus." Proper knowledge of
the use of the virus software installed will limit this issue.
Anti-virus software today is fairly sophisticated, but virus
writers are often a step ahead of the software, and new viruses are
constantly being released that current anti-virus software cannot
recognize. The key to anti-virus software is detection. Once an
infected file has been detected, it can sometimes be repaired. If
not, the file can at least be quarantined so that the viral code will
not be executed.
Virus recovery & removal
Once a virus is detected, how do anti-virus programs undo the
damage that the virus has done? Anti-virus programs are fairly bad at
restoring data - viruses that attempt to damage files instead of
merely infecting them will succeed unless those files have been
backed up. Virus scanners repair files by deleting the virus code
from the file, which in most cases restores the file to its
pre-infected state. However, for viruses that damage system files
(e.g. viruses that block access to anti-virus software vendors
irreparably changes a network library,) the anti-virus program is
incapable of repairing all the damage. The only foolproof method of
restoring damage done by a virus is to clean all infected files and
restore everything else from backups.
Problems with anti-virus software
Many copies of anti-virus software are unable to detect even old
viruses, because end users frequently forget or simply don't update
their virus scanner's virus databases until it's too late. On-demand
scans are rarely performed because they're slow and hog resources
while running, so dormant viruses tend to have a rather long life.
On-access scanners aren't free of troubles either - some consume too
many resources, so many users are tempted to disable them if they're
on a slower machine.
Finally, while anti-virus software may become extremely good at
sensing virus activity, there are always new security holes to
exploit in operating system and networking software that would give
viruses another entry point that bypasses the anti-virus software.
Finding a security hole and getting reported on one of these sites is
considered to be an honor among the virus writing community.
Anti-virus software in use today is fairly effective - but only if
it's kept updated and the user takes precautions (such as not opening
unfamiliar documents or programs.) Despite all this, anti-virus
software cannot protect against brand new viruses, and few users take
the necessary precautions. A survey was done of corporate computer
users, finding that many users still get infected even if they are
required to take all the necessary precautions. With the Internet
daily growing larger, it is unlikely that anti-virus software will be
able to protect all of the users connected; however, with proper care
and attention, people should be able to deal with all but the most
unusual viruses. | 
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