Threat Awareness and Protection

Virus authors, Malware distributors and Hackers have become the greatest productivity drain to the small business network. Protecting your system against these threats is no longer an option . . . it is mission critical. As threats continue to evolve, understanding the risks is an important step in assessing your exposure and security needs. Here are the basics:

Virus Infections
These are programs written with the intent to do damage, deny service or allow unauthorized access to your system. Most business and home users have come to realize the importance of antivirus software due to the television coverage of some of the more notorious outbreaks. These programs gain entry to your computer or network through email, web pages, music downloads and floppy (or home-burned CD) disks.

Malware Distributors
This is a relatively new category of threat, previously referred to as Ad-Ware, Spy-Ware and a few other 'Wares'. The term means Malicious Software, and there are new programs created which qualify for this category every day.

Most Malware is downloaded and installed by users who do not realize they are doing so. It is almost always 'bundled', or integrated with a 'free' program the user actually wants to use. Unfortunately, Malware does not announce its installation or presence before hand. It will usually let you know through a series of pop-up ads, the 'hi-jacking' of your Web Home Page or Search Page and other noticeable performance degradations. Some Malware tracks the pages you visit on the web and generates junk email based on your visits or searches.

If you have teenagers at home, or employees downloading music at work, chances are you have at least a couple of Malware programs slowing down system performance, and possibly putting your information at risk.

Hackers
These are the folks with an agenda, or perhaps simply too much time on their hands. Using a variety of easy to obtain tools they search, or 'sniff' the internet for ways to enter unprotected or under protected systems.

With 'casual' hackers, their activities can be compared to walking  down the street checking to see if the doors on parked cars are locked or not. When the find a system with a vulnerability, they may go in and take a look around. They might also make note of the computer location (or IP Address) and come back to explore later.

The classic Hacker with an agenda is a disgruntled employee seeking vengeance through data destruction or system disruption. This person may also be someone else who wishes to access sensitive or confidential information on your business or home system.

The difference between the 'casual' and 'motivated' hacker is your exposure to risk. Following basic guidelines for computer security is ample protection from the casual hacker. If you car door is locked and the alarm set, most casual hackers will move along seeking an easier target.

If someone wants to access your system and has the technical knowledge or resources, their is a very good chance they will succeed. Large corporations spend tens of thousands of dollars to secure their networks and implement strict security policies. This is usually not an option for the small business or home user. If you believe yourself or business to be a potential target, there are other steps you should take . . . and quickly.

We can help you assess your threat exposure, your current protection level and recommend any immediate or future actions for you or your business.

If you believe you have been infected or affected by any of these threats, we can identify, remove, repair the damage and in most cases recover your critical data files.