Antivirus and backup: Do you need both?

You’re likely familiar with the terms ‘antivirus’ and ‘backup,’ but you may be wondering whether you need both to keep your data secure. After all, both antivirus software and backup software claim to protect your data. Can you have one and not the other?

What threats do antivirus programs detect?

There are several threats that your antivirus program can detect. The most common ones include:

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Situations when antivirus can’t help

Antivirus software will ensure you’re protected against viruses and other threats. However, it can’t restore your files should your hard drive fail, your computer crash, or if files are accidentally deleted from your computer.

In contrast, backup solutions can’t protect you against a virus, but they can restore and recover your most critical information when you need it the most.

Hackers and malware are a significant threat, but your business has other threats. Picture these scenarios:

• Your accountant stores the payroll information on their laptop. While traveling, their computer is stolen, and all the employee information is lost.
• A fire erupts in the warehouse next to your building, significantly damaging many of your desktop computers. Insurance quickly provides new hardware, but you’ve lost all your customer data.
• Your sales director accidentally spills coffee on his laptop. He stored all of the company’s sales leads on an Excel file on his laptop, and it’s now gone.
• Your office manager tries to backup files to an external hard drive but misunderstands a prompt and accidentally reformats the device. Your backups are lost.
• An employee accidentally installs a third-party app that distorts the entire system, you lost all the data. If only you had some online backup to get it back to the way it was, pronto!
• You decide to install the latest operating system for your computer, but it becomes stuck in a loop. Your IT technician has to wipe the entire device. Everything you have saved on it will be lost.

Your antivirus software is fully functional but not exactly helpful in these scenarios. Instead, data backup offers guaranteed protection against these data losses.

Do you need antivirus and backup software?

There are numerous threats out there with the potential to impact your data and security. A good antivirus software program is your best protection against nefarious hackers and cybercriminals. Your only defense against a catastrophic data loss is a backup software system that backs up your critical data. Using both solutions is the best way to ensure business continuity and avoid data loss.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive backup solution that runs in the background and does what it’s supposed to without interrupting you or your employees, Narbulut is a great option. More than 100K users back up their sensitive data with Narbulut without any interruption in their work flow, and seamlessly recover all the required data.