Difference between Antivirus and Antimalware (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 15 Jul, 2025

Antivirus is a program that is created to search, detect, prevent, and remove software viruses from your system that can harm your system. Anti Malware is software designed for scanning, detecting, blocking, and preventing malicious programs from accessing our system. In this article, we will discover differences between Antivirus and Antimalware.

**What is Antivirus?

Antivirus is a type of software program that helps protect the computer system from viruses. It detects the viruses in the computer system and destroys them. It protects the computer system from specific malware. It is used for protection from some traditional and simple threats that can harm the computer system. It is mostly used in personal computers for safety purposes. Examples: Avast, QuickHeal, AVG

**Benefits of Antivirus

Spam and advertisements are blocked.
Virus protection and transmission prevention.
Hackers and data thieves are a threat.
Protected against devices that can be detached.
To improve security.
Password Protection.

**Drawbacks of Antivirus

Slows down system’s speed.
Popping up of Advertisements.
Security Holes.
No customer care service.

**What is Antimalware?

Antimalware is also a software program but it protects the computer systems from all kinds of malware i.e., viruses, trojans, worms, etc. It protects the computer system from all kinds of malware. It is used for protection from some new, sophisticated, and more dangerous threats that can harm the computer system. It is mostly used in organizational computers for safety purposes. Example: MalwareBytes, SpyBot Search & Destroy

Benefits of Antimalware

Protection Against Malware.
Improved System Performance.
Data Protection.
System Maintenance and Updates.

Drawbacks of Antimalware

Resource Consumption.
Subscription Fees.
Complexity and Maintenance.
Security Vulnerabilities.

**Difference between Antivirus and Antimalware

Parameters	ANTIVIRUS	ANTIMALWARE
**Definition	Antivirus is a software program that protects the computer system from viruses.	Antimalware is a software program that protects the computer systems from all malware i.e. viruses, trojans, worms, etc.
**Protects	It protects from traditional viruses.	It protects from all malware including newer and sophisticated ones.
**Rule update	It does not update its rules frequently.	It updates its rules frequently so that malware detection is easy.
**Danger	It protects from predictable danger.	It protects from unpredictable danger.
**Used in	It is mostly used in personal computers.	It is mostly used in organizational computers.
**Cost	It is comparatively less costly.	It is more costly.
**Detect	It detects and destroys viruses which is a type of malware.	It detects and destroys all malware including viruses too.
**Features	Real time scanningRemove threats	SandboxingTraffic filteringProactive Security
**Techniques	Techniques Used by Antivirus software- ScanningIntegrity checkingInterceptionHeuristic detection.	Used by Anti-malware software- SandboxingSignature-based detectionBehavior-based detection
**System compatibility	It is more used as it has system compatibility.	It is less used due to its high rate and system compatibility.
**Protect	It protects against common types of viruses.	It can scan and detect new iterations of infections.
**Reliable	It is not reliable with the overall cyber protection of the computer system.	It is reliable with the overall cyber protection of the computer system.