CompTIA ITF+ Practice Test: Prep Guide & Practice Questions

Antivirus software plays the crucial role of detecting and removing malware, which includes viruses, worms, Trojans, and various types of harmful software that can infect a computer or network. This type of software scans files and programs on a system to identify potentially malicious code. Once detected, antivirus software can quarantine or delete these threats to ensure that the system remains safe and functional.

While other options may relate to aspects of IT security and performance, they do not represent the primary function of antivirus software. For instance, securing data against unauthorized access is typically the responsibility of encryption and access control measures. Monitoring hardware performance is often handled by system monitoring tools rather than antivirus programs. Lastly, managing network configurations falls under the purview of network administration tools instead of antivirus solutions. Thus, the primary focus of antivirus software is indeed on malware detection and removal, solidifying option C as the correct choice.