Next-generation antivirus (NGAV) is a type of cybersecurity solution that uses advanced technologies and techniques to detect and prevent malware and other cyber threats. Unlike traditional antivirus software, which relies on signature-based detection methods, NGAV uses a combination of behavioral analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other advanced techniques to identify and respond to new and emerging threats.

NGAV solutions can provide more comprehensive and proactive protection against modern cyber attacks, which are becoming increasingly sophisticated and difficult to detect. They can identify and block not only known malware, but also unknown or zero-day threats that traditional antivirus solutions might miss. Additionally, NGAV can provide more detailed and granular information about the nature and source of cyber threats, which can help security teams respond more effectively and quickly to contain and remediate any incidents.

In contrast to legacy antivirus technology, next-generation antivirus (NGAV) advances threat detection by finding all symptoms of malicious behavior rather than focusing on looking only for known malware file attributes.

Traditional antivirus software, while sometimes effective, doesn’t track and inspect a potential virus. Instead, traditional AVs use signature-based detection methods, which threat actors have learned, a long time ago, how to evade.

To combat evolving cyberattacks, next-generation antivirus employs machine learning and predictive modeling techniques to establish predictive analytics that identify malware and malicious behavior before it has the chance to compromise your security protocols.

How Next-Gen Antivirus Works

Next-generation antivirus uses a combination of artificial intelligence, behavioral detection, and machine learning algorithms to identify threats. NGAV is cloud-based and doesn’t require integration into organizations’ tech stacks, which simplifies deployment and management while maintaining to-the-minute updates that combat the quickly evolving techniques and tools employed by hackers, scammers, and other types of cybercriminals.

Next-Gen AV vs. Legacy AV

Unlike traditional AV, next-generation AV (NGAV) identifies malicious activity using a system-centered, technical approach that examines every process on an endpoint. This allows next-gen AV to proactively detect and block hackers’ tools and tactics to gain entry. While traditional AV is focused on detecting malware at the endpoint alone, NGAV addresses many modern threat scenarios, including ransomware and fileless attacks.

Next-gen AV offers a more effective means of recognizing and deterring unknown malware and sophisticated attacks by looking at the whole context rather than just isolated incidents. This rich contextual information allows NGAV to understand the cause of the attack and thus prevent future ones. Rapid deployment and cloud access are also key features of next-gen AV.

Overall, next-gen antivirus offers increased endpoint detection, better response capabilities, and a greater number of preventative measures. In many cases, it can entirely replace traditional endpoint security products.

Focus On Behavior, Not Identity

The key is to prevent anything that can be prevented pre-execution and to deal with what cannot by looking at the behavior of processes executing on the endpoint. This is effective because they operate similarly despite the large and increasing number of malware variants. The number of malware behaviors is considerably smaller than the number of ways a malicious file might look, making this approach suitable for prevention and detection.