Periodically we hear of disastrous outbreaks of computer viruses. These headline making events are a rarity. The more common problem is the insidious infiltration of a system or network by a virus, worm, botnet that may quietly do its work in the background. Symptoms of infestation by malware — the term used to denote all harmful malicious software — may be as minor as slowdowns, unexpected ad pop-ups, or as major as complete system failure.
Botnets can be used to "enslave" your computer by using your e-mail to generate spam, recording every keystroke you make and reporting it to a remote site, or automatically having ads appear on your screen.
Computer hackers seem to be always one step ahead of software manufacturers; they discover vulnerable points in the software through which they enter the network and infect the system. Poor patch management, antivirus shortcomings, and yet undetected vulnerabilities of operating and mailing systems allow malware to enter networks.
The important question is: what can you do to minimize the chances of malware entering your system?
Here are the common sense steps you should take to safeguard the integrity of your system:
- Have an updated antivirus installed and set to proper level of security
- Set your antivirus to automatically update its database
- Set your antivirus to do auto scanning of your system at least once a week during off hours
- Do not allow your staff to bring in software – non-licensed, private software should not be allowed on a professional business network
- Use a firewall
- Do not allow surfing, downloading or uploading
- Do not allow the use of private USB memory sticks or private external hard drives
- Apply all security patches in a timely manner
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