How does antivirus software function?

Antivirus software functions primarily by detecting, preventing, and removing malware from computer systems. This includes a range of malicious entities such as viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, and spyware. The software utilizes various methods to accomplish these tasks, including signature-based detection, which identifies known threats by matching them against a database of malware signatures, and heuristic analysis, which helps identify new or unknown threats based on suspicious behavior.

Moreover, antivirus solutions often include real-time scanning capabilities that monitor downloads, emails, and files as they are accessed, ensuring that potentially harmful software is blocked before it can infect the system. In addition to detection and removal, many antivirus programs also provide ongoing updates to their malware definitions, which is crucial for protecting against newly developed threats.

The other options do not describe the primary function of antivirus software. While enhancing system speed and performance could be a result of removing malware, it is not the main purpose. Focus on hardware integrity is more aligned with hardware monitoring tools rather than antivirus software. Creating backups of system files pertains to data protection solutions, which is a separate function that does not fall under the scope of antivirus operation.