Keeping your computer network safe from crippling pup-ops, viruses, spyware, and spam is a serious task. Let us ask these questions: Do you constantly get hammered by pop-up ads that come from nowhere and interfere with using your computer? Does your computer network run slow, act funny, or crush unexpectedly? And, Are you getting tons of spam from unknown senders?
If so, the computers on your network are probably infected with malicious programs that could destroy your files. In addition, it will also result in stealing your company's confidential and financial information and rendering your computer useless. Don't waste time. Contact us right away.
Failure to keep your computer network safe means allowing yourself to be a victim of online crimes.
Indeed, it's true. Cybercriminals lurk everywhere and keep themselves busy finding ways to harm you. In addition, even legitimate websites have intricate methods of snooping into your private information using cookies and spyware. Read this article and learn if you want to make sure you are not their next target.
Three Most Common and Dangerous Computer Network Threats You Must Be Aware Of
One of the most dangerous aspects of online threats is their ability to cloak their existence. Moreover, hackers and the authors of malicious spyware and malware programs are difficult to identify and remove. Furthermore, they are also highly capable of finding tiny, overlooked loopholes in your security to access and infect your network without your knowledge.
That means a malicious program is already inside your network and doing its dirty work long before you know it. Remember the biggest data breaches in the 21st century? That only shows that you are not immune, big or small, no matter what industry you belong to. Below are the three most common threats you'll need to guard against with a brief explanation.
| Spyware | Spyware is Internet jargon for hidden programs advertisers install on your PC without your permission to spy on you. Spyware is NOT harmless. It can be responsible for delivering a boatload of spam. Not to forget, it alters your web browser, slowing down your PC and serving up a bounty of pop-up ads. Furthermore, spyware can steal your identity, password, e-mail address book, and even use your PC for illegal activities in some extreme cases. |
| Malware | Malware is short for malicious software and represents all programs, viruses, Trojans, and worms that have malicious intent to damage or disrupt a system. Malware is harder to remove and will fight back when you try to clean it from your system. |
| Hackers | Hackers are computer programmers turned evil. They are the people who design the spyware and malware programs that attack your computer. In addition, Some of them have criminal intent and use these programs to steal money from individuals and companies. |
Surefire Signs That You Are Infected With Spyware, Malware, and Viruses
Since most malicious programs are designed to hide, detecting their existence is not always easy. However, there are a few surefire signs that you have been infected:
| You start getting swamped with pop-up ads that seem to come from nowhere and constantly interrupt your computer use. |
| Your computer is unstable, sluggish, locks up, or crashes frequently. |
| Your web browser's home page changes on its own, and you cannot modify the settings. You may also see toolbars on your web browser that you did not set up. |
| You get a second or third web browser popping up behind the main browser that you didn’t open or request. |
| Mysterious files suddenly start appearing. |
| Your CD drawer starts opening and closing by itself. |
| You get constant runtime errors in MS Outlook/Outlook Express. |
| You find emails in your “Sent Items” folder that you didn't send. |
| Some of your files are moved or deleted, or the icons on your desktop or toolbars are blank or missing. |
If you are experiencing one or more of the above when using your computer, you are infected and should seek help from a senior computer technician. Before we talk about getting rid of it, let us share four costly misconceptions about spyware, malware, hackers, and other threats that you will also need to know.
The Four Most Costly Misconceptions About Spyware, Malware, And Other Computer Threats Spyware and Malware is easy to remove
Spyware and Malware are easy to remove
It is correct that you can use Spybot or Ad-Aware as a first attempt at cleaning your machine. However, suppose you notice that your computer runs slow and continues to get crippling pop-ups or any other tell-tale signs discussed earlier. In that case, you will need to seek the help of an experienced computer technician.
My computer's fault is that I continue to get attacked by spyware, malware, and viruses.
Installing programs is not the only way a hacker or malware program can access your computer. Consequently, If you do not have the most up-to-date security patches and virus definitions installed on your computer, hackers can access your PC through a banner ad on the web that you accidentally clicked on or an e-mail attachment you opened.
Again, most of the infections we see come from employees accessing these websites for personal use on company machines.
If my computer network is working fine right now, I don't need to perform maintenance on it.
This is probably one of the biggest and most deadly misconceptions that most business owners fall victim to. Computer networks are just like cars. If you don’t change the oil, change the filter, rotate the tires, flush the transmission, and perform other regular maintenance on your car, it will eventually break down and cost you FAR MORE to repair than the basic maintenance cost.
The Firewall and security tools provided in the Microsoft Operating System are all the maintenance and protection I need
Again, this is a terrible misconception. Microsoft does NOT include all security features to protect your data from viruses, hackers, and data loss or prevent your PC from running slowly. No single vendor provides all the system security features you need to keep your computer and files safe from harm. Let us outline exactly what you need to ensure your computer is completely protected.
6 Simple Steps To Secure Your Computer From Malicious Attacks and Avoid Expensive Repair Bills
While it's impossible to plan for every potential computer problem or emergency, a little proactive monitoring and maintenance of your network will help you avoid or significantly reduce the impact of the vast majority of computer disasters you could experience.
Over [37], necessary checks and maintenance tasks must be performed daily, weekly, and monthly. We will share the [6] that are most important for protecting your company.
Step 1: Make Sure You Are Backing Up Your Files Every Day
It just amazes us how many businesses never back up their computer network. Imagine this: you write the most critical piece of information you could ever write on a chalkboard, and I come along and erase it. How are you going to get it back? You’re not. Unless you can remember it, you can’t recover the data if you made a copy of it. It’s gone.
That is why it is so important to back up your network. Several things could cause you to lose data files. If the information on the disk is important to you, make sure you have more than one copy of it.
Step 2: Check Your Backups Regularly To Make Sure They Are Working Properly
This is another big mistake. Many business owners set up some backup system but never check to ensure it’s working correctly. It’s not uncommon for a system to APPEAR to be backing up when in reality, it’s not. There are dozens of things that can go wrong and cause your backup to become corrupt and useless.
That is why it’s not enough to back up your system; you have to check it regularly to make sure the data is recoverable in an emergency.
Step 3: Keep An Offsite Copy Of Your Backups
What happens if a fire or flood destroys your server AND the backup tapes or drive? This is how hurricane Katrina devastated many businesses that have now been forced into bankruptcy. What happens if your office gets robbed and they take EVERYTHING? Having an offsite backup is simply a smart way to make sure you can get your business back up and running in a relatively short period.
Step 4: Make Sure Your Virus Protection Is ALWAYS On AND Up-To-Date
Not only can a virus corrupt your files and bring down your network, but it can also hurt your reputation. If you or one of your employees unknowingly spreads a virus to a customer, or if the virus hijacks your e-mail address book, you’re going to make many people very angry.
Step 5: Set Up A Firewall
Small business owners think that because they are “just a small business,” no one would waste time trying to hack into their network when nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve conducted experiments where I connected a single computer to the Internet with no firewall. Over 13 gigabytes of space were taken over within hours by malicious code and files that I could not delete. The simple fact is that there are thousands of unscrupulous individuals out there who think it’s fun to disable your computer just because they can.
If the malicious programs can’t be deleted, you’ll have to re-format the entire hard drive causing you to lose every piece of information you’ve ever owned UNLESS you were backing up your files properly (see 1 to 3 above).
Step 6: Update Your System With Critical Security Patches As They Become Available
If you do not have the most up-to-date security patches and virus definitions installed on your network, hackers can access your computer through a simple banner ad or an e-mail attachment.
Most hackers do not discover these security loopholes on their own. Instead, they learn about them when a software vendor announces the vulnerability and issues an update. That is their cue to spring into action. They immediately go to work to analyze the update and craft an exploit (like a virus) that allows them access to any computer or network that has not yet installed the security patch.
Want To Be Absolutely Certain That Your Computer Network Is Safe From Spyware, Malware, and Other Threats?
If your network and the files and data on it are important to you, it’s about time you got serious about protecting them. Our Ultimate Peace of Mind Computer Security Pack is designed to take the guesswork out of securing your computer from data loss, viruses, spyware, downtime, and expensive computer repairs. Hence, you never have to worry that you are not protected.
This plan is intended for brand new or clean computers requiring only installation and configuration of the software programs below. Talk to us now to learn more.
