Guide to Computer Viruses & Malware

Protecting my business data from damaging software

It is an unfortunate fact of life that every networked computer is a potential victim of computer viruses and malware. If your computer is ever infected then it can result in catastrophic loss of important business data. Protecting this data and your PC equipment is therefore a vital part of running a small business.

This article has been designed to assist small companies understand the problems of malware and computer viruses and give you some tips to help secure your computer equipment.

What is Malware?

Across the world there are many hundreds of individuals who spend their time creating software that can damage computers. The term used to describe this software is “malware” and it encompasses all of the nasty software you may have heard of including viruses, Trojans, worms and adware. There are technical differences about the nature of such malware and indeed some is more damaging than others. Really you should not be concerned about these detailed differences, rather just focus on protecting your business computers from all malware.

A significant and rising concern is about malware called “BotNets”. This is software that is installed onto your PC without your knowledge and then takes over your computer such that it can become involved in sending out spam email messages or other malware. Some of these networks can comprise thousands of linked PCs, all controlled by a remote operator who steals your computer processing power. The only evidence of being infected is often just a slowing of your PC’s performance.

How to protect your business from Malware

First and for most you need to ensure that you have purchased a product called antivirus software. This sits on each PC and makes sure that any damaging software is not allowed to enter the PC and cause problems. Because the nature of this malware threat changes regularly this software will rather cleverly download a new set of updated antivirus instructions every day to make sure you are keeping abreast of malware development.

Suppliers of anti-virus and anti-malware software

There are a large number of providers of antivirus software. Most of these products can be obtained on a subscription basis and may cost around £100 per year. Others may be available free of charge. Look for a supplier that has good widespread use as they will generally be up to date with the latest malware threats.

To install the software you will normally visit the vendor’s website and then follow the instructions to set up your PC. For suppliers that charge for the software you will need to enter registration details and a credit card number.

Some computer hardware suppliers may sell you a new PC with a free trial subscription for some antivirus software. This is a useful service and worth taking advantage of, even if it only lasts for 60 days before you need to register.

Antivirus/malware suppliers include:

• AVGUK
• F-PROT
• SOPHOS
• SYMANTEC
• LAVASOFT
• MICROSOFT
• MCAFEE

Software manufacturers often need to make changes to their products to ensure they remain secure. This is in response to the hundreds of hackers that like to try and find a fault in the software and expose details such as passwords and banking details.

To prevent this happening you need to ensure that your business PCs are fully configured with these latest updates – sometimes referred to as patches. The good news is that most of the main stream business software vendors will automatically update your software for you – all you need to do is to “reboot” or switch the computer off and then on again for these changes to be implemented.

Most business users will use Microsoft software, and as such this is a large target for hackers to attack. It is strongly suggested that you take some time to visit the following Microsoft website and just make sure that you are receiving the latest up dates for your Microsoft software, including Windows and Office.

The good news is that this is a free of charge service provided by Microsoft.

Other steps you can take to keep your PC safe

Email is a vital tool for most businesses. Unfortunately it is also used as a mechanism to distribute malware. There are some steps you can take to further protect you business:

• Only open email attachments from people that you know
• Only open email attachments when you have been told to expect one
• Never click onto a website link contained in an email unless you can completely trust the sender of the message and the web site it is linking to
  
• Never respond to “spam” email messages – it will lead you to being targeted by other spammers
  
• Never respond to emails that appear to be from your bank requesting passwords
  
• Don’t forward junk email, spam or “chain” emails – it wastes time and can make you a target
  
• Be very careful which websites you visit – certain “unsavoury” websites can download malware without you knowing it
  
• Never install software from a website unless you are 100% happy you trust the vendor or provider
  
• Always check the website address (called a URL) and make sure it is correct – some hackers will alter the URL very slightly and redirect you to a rogue site
  
• If in doubt – don’t!

This guide was provided by The Business IT Guide - a free online tool designed to help smaller businesses in using ICT to improve efficiency and productivity. It enables businesses to access a wide range of high quality independent advice to help them fully exploit ICT.