Anti-virus, Anti-Spam and Anti-Spyware
We all know what a computer virus is and that your computer - and network - can become "infected" by opening a malicious e-Mail or clicking on a web site. And don't forget "spam" - unsolicited junk e-Mails that can decrease your efficiency and increase your frustration level. And now there's Spyware, a more recent threat that tries to dupe you into letting it run on your computer so it can watch what you are doing. Most Spyware is relatively harmless and enables "market research". However, a lot of Spyware can be seriously evil, hidden on your computer and waiting for you to key in your credit card number or bank password and send it off to criminals anywhere on the planet.
A Real & Present Danger
We could fill a book talking about all these real and present dangers, but the bottom line on this for small & medium business owners is this:
- Your computers almost certainly have some kind of Spyware on them right now.
- If Spyware is not stealing important information, it is at least making your computers run SLOOOOOOW.
- If you receive more than 50 e-Mails, a virus will probably try to attack your business today.
- In the next 24 hours, someone will probe your system in an attempt to hijack it for distributing pornography or scam-spam.
- If your Internet Service Provider is automatically filtering your e-Mail to eliminate spam, you may be losing legitimate communications from your customers that have falsely been rejected as junk mail.
- Your whole network can become infected with a virus and be hijacked if only one employee:
- Clicks on a malicious web site, accidentally or not
- Opens a document, program or even a picture in an infected e-Mail
- Installs cute, free software such as doggie faces for e-mails or a colorful search-bar for Internet Explorer.
In many cases, the first thing a hijacked network will do is look for e-Mail addresses and other connections that it can attack more easily through your computer. Your customers, suppliers and acquaintances could be attacked by your business. And that's not good!
These threats are real and frequent and happening right now. The personal-grade protection software you use for you home system may not be adequate for a business. Many of the same manufacturers have commercial-grade versions that are quite effective and not costly. But they are in fact different in most cases and are not just up-priced versions of the personal versions.
A business also needs three to four layers of defense, not just one layer like the personal grade protection products offer. You can read about this under Computer Security. Contact us and find out how we can help you defend yourself fast.
Call us at 905-889-0509 for more details or Click Here to send an email. |