Monday, September 22, 2008

Riskware

Many a-squared users find so-called Riskware on their computer when scanning for Malware. Those who are not familiar with the many special terms and meanings of the computer world may trip over this somewhat and place software in quarantine that is probably not damaging and which was intentionally installed.

The meaning of the term Riskware can be simply derived from the two words "risk" and "ware". The "ware" in this case is of course software and not a physical object. Simply put, this is software whose installation presents a possible but not definite risk for the PC. Relatively normal programs can often fall into the category of Riskware because some applications can be modified for another purpose and used against the PC user.

Riskware CAN be a risk for PC security but does not HAVE to be a risk. Programs that you have intentionally installed can thus be indicated as Riskware by a-squared. In this case, you can usually ignore the warning with a clear conscience or place the relevant program on the exception list so that is no longer recognized in future scans. However, if you discover software recognized as Riskware that was previously unknown, and which lives in dubious directories, then you should examine this more closely and if necessary remove it as soon as possible. However, you should not forget that other users of the same computer might have installed these programs on the hard drive.

For manufacturers of security tools such as a-squared Anti-Malware, a compromise must often be made between providing the best possible protection for the system on the one hand, and producing the smallest possible number of false notifications on the other. For this reason we allow you to deactivate specific Riskware notifications. Adjust the settings of your a-squared Anti-Malware so that it suits your operating requirements while still satisfying your security requirements.

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