Computers are not only becoming faster, but also smarter. A new technology called “Machine Learning” (or ML for short) is changing the way companies process and analyse information – but these developments have important implications for you too.

So, what is Machine Learning?

Computers that can teach themselves

In the past, computers have been very limited in what they can do. You fed information in, and some pre-configured software analysed that data using some very limited algorithms to generate useful insights. Very large companies could adjust and update those algorithms, but the process takes time, effort and cash.

Machine Learning changes the scenario slightly. Instead of having people build and adjust the algorithm, the computer is trained to do the job on its own. Data is fed into the system, and the ML engine searches for patterns and statistically important information automatically.

Once trained, the Machine Learning system can analyse huge amounts of data more quickly – and more accurately – than a human. Which means that businesses using ML can make decisions more quickly and improve the quality of service they offer to their customers.

What does that mean for you?

Machine Learning is already working behind the scenes at many companies, so you may have encountered it without even realising. Take the Google Translate service for instance. In the past, Google had to program the translation between two languages – like English and Japanese.

Using all the information gathered by their search engine, Google then built the Google Neural Machine Translation (GNMT) to translate between different language pairs. The system can now convert Japanese to Korean without ever having been “taught”. And because the ML teaches itself, the quality and accuracy of translation continues to improve.

Using Machine Learning to keep you safe

Machine Learning can be applied to almost any challenge – including keeping you safe online. Panda has now integrated artificial intelligence into the Dome product line to better protect their users for instance.

In the past, anti-malware products could only detect known viruses – and there was always a delay between malware being discovered, and a fix being developed. Until a fix is released, your computer was unprotected, leaving you at an increased risk of infection.

Our new artificial intelligence-driven system is a lot smarter. Panda Dome monitors every process running on your computer – including the ones you can’t see. It then detects every fluctuation and change, blocking anything suspicious before your computer can be infected.

Panda Dome is constantly learning – from your computer and all the others it is installed on across the world. This allows the anti-malware engine to learn to detect suspicious behaviour even more quickly, blocking malware before it has been officially recognised, categorised and patched. Total security is virtually instant thanks to the power of machine learning.

To learn more about ML-powered anti-malware – and to better protect your computer and smartphone right now – download a free trial of Panda Dome here.