Privacy

Privacy

Some antivirus programs may be configured to automatically upload infected or suspicious files to the developer for further analysis. Care should be taking when deploying antivirus software to ensure that documents containing confidential or proprietary information are not sent to the product's developer without prompting the user.

[edit] Rogue security applications

Some antivirus programs are actually malware masquerading as antivirus software, such as WinFixer and MS Antivirus.^[18]

[edit] False positives

If an antivirus program is configured to immediately delete or quarantine infected files (or does this by default), false positives in essential files can render the operating system or some applications unusable.^[19]

[edit] System related issues

Running multiple antivirus programs concurrently can degrade performance and create conflicts.^[20] It is sometimes necessary to temporarily disable virus protection when installing major updates such as Windows Service Packs or updating graphics card drivers.^[21] Active antivirus protection may partially or completely prevent the installation of a major update.