What is the primary purpose of anti-virus software?

The primary purpose of anti-virus software is to detect and remove malware. Malware refers to malicious software designed to infiltrate or damage computer systems, which includes viruses, worms, Trojans, and ransomware. Anti-virus software scans files and programs on a computer to identify known malware signatures, as well as employing heuristic analysis to catch previously unknown threats. Once detected, the software can then quarantine or delete these threats to prevent them from causing harm to the system.

By focusing on this core functionality, anti-virus software plays a critical role in protecting user data, maintaining system integrity, and ensuring the overall security of computer systems. This is essential in a landscape where cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated and prevalent. Other options, while they pertain to computer security or performance, do not encapsulate the primary function of anti-virus software. Encrypting data pertains to protecting information privacy, monitoring network traffic relates more to intrusion detection systems and overall network security, and boosting system performance focuses on optimizing the computer’s operational efficiency rather than securing it from threats.