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How to Protect Your Computer Systems from Viruses, Worms, Spyware and Malware

The number of malicious threats aimed at your computer networks and data have increased dramatically.  These threats can cause major losses in productivity and can have a major impact on your company's profitability.  There are four main types of computer viruses or threats: malware, spyware, phishing, and spam.

Malware

This category includes viruses, worms and trojan horses.  Basically, these are computer programs written by malicious operators that enter your system when you open email attachments, visit websites, during open instant messaging sessions or during file-sharing sessions.  Malware hijacks your computer and uses it for malicious activities.  Worms describe a program that attempts to replicate itself from computer to computer.  Trojans disguise themselves as beneficial programs to gain entry into your computer.  You typically will never know that you have malware on your machines until you begin to experience system degradations or crashes, if even then. 

Spyware

Spyware comes from sources similar to malware, but with a different intent.  Spyware are programs that have taken a place on your computer system and are monitoring all your activities.  Their goal is to capture personal data (passwords, financial data, etc.) and transmit that data (without your knowledge) back over the internet to a malicious source.

Phishing

Phishing is the name for fraudulent proposals that exploit the internet as a communication channel to easily reach a large number of targets.  You may receive emails saying "you've won a prize", or "urgent: second contact attempt", all asking for an immediate reply.  It is just good common sense to ignore these types of fraudulent communcation, no matter the source.

Spam

Spam is any unsolicited communication received electronically.  Typically, we think of email, but instant messaging can also be a source of spam.  Spam can be an entry point for spyware or malware.

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Prevention Tips

By understanding and implementing a few simple tips, you can greatly reduce your exposure to viruses or other malicious threats.

1. Only open email or instant messaging (IM) attachments from trusted sources
2. Never click on a link within email text unless you are absolutely certain you recognize the URL
3. Delete all messages that appear to be spam before opening them
4. Install email filters so spam never enters your inbox
5. Never respond to request to "verify your account information".  Call the company and verify the request.
6. Reject instant messages from anyone not on your buddy list
7. Disable preview mode in your email program so that you can delete messages without opening them
8. Be cautious about responding to any windows that pop up.  For suspicious error dialogs, it can be helpful to research by opening a new browser window and use a cut/paste to google a snippet of the error dialog text.
9. Install security software that will scan all incoming files before copying them to your disk drives
10. Stay current on all Microsoft critical updates (install auto-update option so this happens automatically)
11. Avoid "free lunch" deals and surveys.  It's probably the #1 source of spam.
12. Don't respond to email spam "opt-out" options.  It's just an opportunity for them to identify you as a legitimate email address and send you lots more spam!
13. Consider using an alternate email address for placing internet orders.  This will help keep your main email address clean from spam.

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How InfraSupport Can Help

When business assets must be protected, your best solution is to receive expert advice and protection.  Here are a few ways that we can help you minimize or eliminate your risk:

• Under our Managed Service Plan, your computers will always be protected by the latest security techniques.
• A Security Assessment will determine the strength of your current environment and provide recommendations on how to tighten your security.
• A Security Audit will test your desktops and networks and identify the failure points.

Contact us to find out more about how to keep your computer desktops and environment secure.