The Usability Assessment of Antivirus Software Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model

As technology continues to evolve, new ways of threat began to follow its route. Attackers continuously grow in creativity to obtain access to integral information, inflict damage to property, and other malicious acts. Antivirus software is a key component to the prevention of malicious software from compromising your system. With many antivirus software on the market, both free and paid and with 61% of antivirus users make use of free antivirus software (Security.org Team, 2023), the study selected Windows Defender, Avast, McAfee, and Malwarebytes as the main antivirus software that will be evaluated based on the users' behavioral intention of using and accepting these systems. The conducted research paper aims to gather users' acceptability to the different antivirus software utilizing the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model by Venkatesh et al. (2003). These factors include Performance Expectancy (PE), Social Influence (SI), Facilitating Conditions (FC), Effort Expectancy (EE), and Public Trust (PT) alongside other variables such as age, experience, and voluntariness of use. For the data gathering, the researchers will survey a total of 120 users, with at least 30 users each for Windows Defender, Avast, McAfee, and Malwarebytes. Along throughout the study, the researchers will also conduct a simple test simulation of basic threat detection and create a checklist to determine whether the antiviruses that were selected were legitimate or not. The study aims to provide valuable insights into user preferences and perceptions, contributing to enhanced cybersecurity measures and improved antivirus software development in the future.