Issues of concern

Issues of concern

[edit] Performance

Some antivirus software can considerably reduce performance. Users may disable the antivirus protection to overcome the performance loss, thus increasing the risk of infection. For maximum protection, the antivirus software needs to be enabled all the time^{[citation needed]} — often at the cost of slower performance (see also software bloat).

[edit] Security

Antivirus programs can in themselves pose a security risk as they often run at the 'System' level of privileges and may hook the kernel — Both of these are necessary for the software to effectively do its job, however exploitation of the antivirus program itself could lead to privilege escalation and create a severe security threat. Arguably, use of antivirus software when compared to the principle of least privilege is largely ineffective when ramifications of the added software are taken into account.

[edit] Unexpected renewal costs

When purchasing antivirus software, the end-user license agreement may include a clause that the subscription will be automatically renewed, and the purchaser's credit card automatically billed, at the renewal time without explicit approval. For example, McAfee requires one to unsubscribe at least 60 days before the expiration of the present subscription.^[16] Norton Antivirus also renews subscriptions automatically by default.^[17]