Antivirus questions Australian readers ask
Twelve questions, answered at the length they deserve rather than the length that fits a search snippet. Where an answer depends on something this publisher cannot verify, the answer says so instead of guessing.
Do I legally have to run antivirus software in Australia?
No. There is no Australian law requiring a private individual to install security software on a personal device. Obligations that do exist apply to organisations handling other people's personal information, through the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, and they concern reasonable security steps in general rather than any particular product. Anyone telling you that you are required to buy protection is selling something.
Is the protection built into my operating system enough?
For some people it is. Current desktop and mobile operating systems include malware defences that are enabled by default and maintained by the platform vendor, and a device that is patched, backed up and used carefully by one cautious adult is in reasonable shape without a subscription. The case for paying strengthens when a household runs many devices across several platforms, when someone using a device is not comfortable judging what to install, or when the platform's own protection is thin. The platform-by-platform detail is on the by-device page.
What is the difference between free and paid antivirus?
Free products typically provide the detection engine and on-demand scanning. Paid subscriptions add layers around it: centralised management of several devices, web and DNS filtering, and bundled extras such as password managers or VPN services. Free versions from reputable vendors are often supported by prompting you to upgrade rather than by advertising, but the funding model is worth understanding before installing anything, because a free security product with no visible business model is a question rather than a bargain.
Can I run two antivirus products at the same time?
Not two real-time products, no. Two engines hooking the same file operations conflict, each may flag the other's activity, and the result is instability rather than double protection. Running one real-time product alongside a second scanner used only on demand is workable and is a common way to get a second opinion on a specific file.
Does my iPhone need antivirus software?
An application on iPhone or iPad cannot scan the device for malware, because the platform does not allow one application to inspect another application's files or the operating system. Products sold as antivirus for iOS therefore do something else: they filter web addresses, warn about credentials found in known breaches, or help locate a lost device. Those features may be worth having, but they are not virus scanning, and any product implying that it scans an iPhone is describing something the platform prevents.
My antivirus flagged a file I trust. What should I do?
Leave it in quarantine rather than restoring it immediately or turning protection off. Check whether you obtained the file from the publisher's own source rather than a mirror or a link someone sent you. If you are confident it is legitimate, report it to the security vendor as a suspected false positive, which is a normal process that vendors expect. False alarms are an unavoidable consequence of heuristic and behavioural detection, and the real risk they create is training you to dismiss warnings.
Will antivirus software protect me from scams?
Only partially, and not in the way most people hope. A filter may block a known malicious address before the browser loads it, which helps against links leading to malware. It does nothing against a convincing phone call, a message that persuades you to approve a payment, or a page that simply asks for your credentials and receives them. That category of harm is the dominant one for Australian households, and Scamwatch, run by the National Anti-Scam Centre, is the national resource for it.
A web page said my device is infected. Is it real?
No. A web page cannot scan your computer, cannot read your files and cannot detect malware. Anything appearing in a browser that shows a scan, a progress bar or a list of threats found is an advertisement, and frequently the opening move of a scam that ends with a phone call or a remote-access installation. Close the tab, or close the browser if the page resists. Nothing needs to be downloaded and no number needs to be rung.
My subscription renewed at a higher price than I paid. What are my options?
Start with the seller in writing, referring to your original purchase confirmation. Identify where the subscription was actually bought, because a purchase made through an app store is usually cancelled and refunded through that store rather than by the vendor. If the response is unsatisfactory, Australian Consumer Law provides consumer guarantees that a contract term cannot exclude, and the ACCC publishes the current guidance on how they apply and where to take a complaint. Raise a dispute with your card issuer after the seller has had an opportunity to respond.
What should I actually do if a device is infected?
Disconnect it from the network to stop anything spreading or communicating out. Run a full scan with the protection already installed, and if the machine is too compromised to do that reliably, use an offline or boot-time scan. Change important passwords from a different, clean device rather than from the affected one. Restore from a backup made before the infection if you have one. If money, banking or identity documents are involved, contact your bank first and then report the incident through the Australian Cyber Security Centre. Reinstalling the operating system is the thorough option and is sometimes the only one that leaves you confident.
Does antivirus software slow down my computer?
It costs something, and where that cost shows up is predictable. Real-time protection inspects files as they are opened, written and executed, so operations involving many files — copying a large folder, compiling code, installing software — carry a small overhead each time. A full scheduled scan is heavier and is best set to run when the machine is otherwise idle. On current hardware the everyday effect is usually modest; on an older machine with a mechanical hard drive it can be very noticeable, and adjusting the scan schedule is more effective than adjusting the protection.
What does antivirus software send back to the vendor?
More than most people assume, and for a reason. Reputation checking works by asking the vendor's service about files the product encounters, which means file identifiers, and sometimes files themselves, leave the device. Web filtering involves checking addresses you visit against the vendor's lists. Security software also runs with unusually deep access to a system, so the vendor's privacy policy carries more weight here than for an ordinary application. Read what the vendor states it collects, how long it keeps it and who it shares it with. This site does not summarise any vendor's policy, because the policy itself is the authoritative text.
Questions this site will not answer
Three sorts of question arrive regularly and get the same reply. Which product detects the most malware — that requires controlled laboratory testing, which this publisher does not perform, and the independent testing organisations publish those comparisons. What a product costs — pricing in this category changes by promotion, term and region, and any figure written here would be stale within months. Which product to buy — the decision guide sets out a sequence for answering that against your own circumstances, which is the only place the answer exists.
Anything else is welcome at info@lumosnetwork.online, including corrections. There is no form on this site and nothing is collected from readers; an email is the entire mechanism.