Category Archives: Malware

No end to ransomware in sight – so how can Webroot Antivirus help?

Malware, Security, , ,
20170216

Protection against a ransomware attack

Malware seems to be everywhere, spreading to your devices from a range of sources including infected websites and email attachments.

One type that’s been frequently making the news is ransomware. Once ransomware gets in your system, it will lock you out of critical files or prevent you from using devices on your network. Cyber criminals deploying ransomware give you an ultimatum: pay a certain amount of money by a deadline, or lose access to your data permanently.

ZDNet recently reported on how ransomware has come to dominate malware infections, and has become more malicious and sophisticated, with some strains locking users out of their entire operating system or stealing data off the infected devices.

What are some of the effects of ransomware?

Ransomware can hit businesses and other organizations with staggering costs:

  • If you haven’t made regular, reliable data backups that have been kept safely apart from any system infected with ransomware, you may permanently lose your data. Ransomware can deny you access to financial spreadsheets, invoices, contracts, employee records, customer data, and ongoing projects.
  • Applications you need to use for your business operations are no longer accessible, hindering your ability to meet customers’ needs.
  • You suffer from downtime, with various business operations grinding to a halt.
  • Customers lose trust in your ability to safeguard your systems and their own data.

If you decide to pay the ransom (an inadvisable course of action), you wind up losing more money to the cyber criminals targeting you. Furthermore, they won’t necessarily hold up their end of the bargain; maybe you’ll end up permanently blocked from your data. It’s also possible that the criminals will accept your payment, restore access, and strike again the next day.

The news is full of painful reports about ransomware. Just recently, a police department lost several years of data (including some evidence) to ransomware, and a hotel paid cyber criminals who used ransomware to control the rooms’ electronic door locks. Hospitals, schools, and of course businesses of every size have come under attack from his virulent form of malware.

What can you do to prevent a successful ransomware attack?

Maintaining well-protected data backups and training employees in safer computing habits are both essential strategies for decreasing the chances that you’ll suffer a ransomware infection.

There’s also another line of defense that can help you protect your devices: a powerful, comprehensive anti-malware program.

For example, let’s look at the highly recommended Webroot anti-virus.

The core quality of any anti-malware program is its ability to identify malware and block it from becoming active on your devices. To detect malware, Webroot works off a massive database in the cloud. The database undergoes real-time updates, keeping you protected against the latest known threats.

What if you’re facing a new strain of malware that hasn’t yet been identified? This is a legitimate concern for ransomware in particular, with cyber criminals generating and deploying new strains. In that situation, what Webroot would do is analyze the new code introduced to your computing device and maintain it in a kind of quarantine until it’s deemed acceptable.

Will this work to fend off ransomware 100% of the time? Unfortunately not. There isn’t any anti-malware program that can successfully block every single strain of ransomware, especially new ones that crop up. Webroot, at least, offers you powerful, intelligent monitoring that will still detect many of the threats menacing your business.

The prevalence and maliciousness of ransomware makes it one of the greatest threats to your business. Although anti-malware/anti-virus software can’t serve as your sole defense against ransomware, when it’s an effective program like the one offered by Webroot, you still enjoy significantly heightened protection. Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information, including advice about the Webroot package that’s best suited for your business.

Signs Your Computer Is Infected With Malware

Malware, Security, ,
20160408

Suspicious or unwanted pop-ups could be a sign your computer has been infected with malware.

Whether you own a personal computer, or have an entire network at your disposal, it’s always important to be knowledgeable about malware. Aside from infecting your computer in numerous ways, malware is also found where you’d least expect it to be. For example, there are many websites out there which seem safe at first glance, but upon visiting them, your computer may become vulnerable to malicious software and other dangerous programs. As another example, you may even receive an email from what appears to be a coworker, only to find out it’s completely unsafe when you open it. With that said, what are some ways in which you can tell your computer’s infected with malware?

#1. Repeated Advertisements 

While just about any website will have advertisements, one sign that your computer is infected, is if you notice the same ads on every website visited, especially if they happen to be suggestive or explicit. For example, let’s say that you’re on a website for your business, and the advertisements are for estrogen pills. When visiting other sites, you also notice these same ads constantly showing up. It’s not often for websites to display the same advertisements, so this could be a case that your computer has become infected.

#2. Unwanted Pop-ups 

One of the most common signs that your computer is infected with malware, is if you keep receiving frequent pop-ups. This doesn’t just happen from visiting unsafe websites, either, but many downloadable files are often bundled with adware and other hidden programs, which are often the cause of this issue. Because there are many who don’t read the terms of service before downloading files or programs, they might not be aware of what’s really being downloaded. However, there are plenty of downloadable programs where you wouldn’t suspect they’re unsafe, even through careful observation. Always be cautious when installing files and/or programs on your computer.

#3. Suspicious Emails

As was briefly mentioned earlier, a sign your computer may be infected with malware, is if you happen to receive suspicious emails, especially from your coworkers. In the emails, are they requesting important information from you, and does the tone of their message seem off? If you’re not sure whether the message was from them, always confirm before taking any action, and block the email address in question. While suspicious emails may not always be a sign that your computer is infected, it could be an indication that someone wants your device to become susceptible to malware, which will be the case if you open the suspicious email.

#4. Slowdown on Your Computer

While there are plenty of reasons for a computer to run slower than usual, never hesitate to check and see if it’s malware related, as it can have an effect on your computer’s performance. Besides, how long has your computer been running slow? If it’s an incident that’s happened recently, perhaps it’s a problem with your machine being infected. On the other hand, if it’s not very frequent, it may just be a case of unnecessary programs slowing down your performance. Either way, always make sure you know the reason for your computer’s lack of performance. Unlike the other signs your computer is infected with malware, such as receiving unwanted emails, it can be harder to narrow down the reason for your computer’s slowdown.

While many businesses are more than aware of how dangerous malware is, knowing whether your computer’s infected or not, is just as important. Between repeated advertisements on various websites, numerous pop-ups through downloadable programs, as well as receiving suspicious emails from what appear to be your coworkers, there are plenty of ways to tell that your computer is infected. For more information, contact us today at SystemsNet.

Fighting Malware and Other Cyber Disasters: Consider a Risk Management Approach

Malware, Security, ,
20160407

A risk management plan can help protect your company from malware and other cyber security disasters.

Determining the nature and extent of cyber security risks is a critical challenge companies face. Working within budgetary constraints, companies need to draw up and implement a comprehensive plan for cyber security that encompasses all business operations and keeps various risks at an acceptable level.

When so much of what a company does depends on computing devices, there are numerous points of vulnerability that cyber criminals can exploit. Companies need to understand the kinds of risks they face, the likelihood of different IT disasters, and the best ways to manage each type of risk.

A recent article from Business Insurance discusses how good risk management provides companies with important insights about cyber security risks and recommendations for steps to take. Knowing how to manage your cyber security risks is integral to better protecting your company from malware and other cyber crimes and IT disasters.

How should you go about managing your company’s cyber security risks? The following are several key tips.

1) Rely on meaningful data

As much as possible, you should quantify the risks your company faces and the likely effects of your solutions. Quantifying risks helps you prioritize the vulnerabilities that need the most attention and resources. You can also determine whether or not a particular solution has worked as you anticipated, and whether your solutions are cost-effective. Without supporting data, you’re less likely to have a clear picture of your company’s cyber security performance.

2) Choose your metrics carefully

How do you intend to measure different kinds of risk? What’s an acceptable level of risk to work with? Unfortunately, there aren’t always industry standards or other widely agreed-upon best practices to help you determine the answers. To start with, you can consult with IT security professionals and well-informed business leaders to get a better sense of how to best measure and manage risk.

3) Make sure you’re comprehensive

Risk management should encompass all aspects of your company and its operations. Every business operation exposes you to cyber security risks. HR personnel work with software and files containing employees’ payroll data. Employees in sales and marketing handle sensitive customer information. Your accounting personnel process critical financial information. Understand the vulnerabilities in every type of hardware and software you use and in the IT set-up your business relies on.

4) Stay realistic

There’s no way you can avoid all risks or bring the chances of an IT disaster down to nothing. Sometimes, you’ll have to accept a risk, because the benefits are greater. You may not always have the means to significantly reduce a particular risk. Other times, you’ll need to do everything you can to bring the level of risk down as much possible, because failing to do so will severely undermine your company. A strong risk management approach helps you make the best possible decisions within the constraints affecting you.

5) Make it a group effort

Risk management is based on collaboration among IT personnel and company leaders. This collaboration ensures that your company’s decision makers are all on the same page when it comes to prioritizing cyber security, understanding the risks, and keeping the risks at acceptable, manageable levels. Ultimately, every IT security decision you make needs to serve your company’s goals and further its growth. Your IT personnel can’t work in isolation, without an understanding of your company’s needs and objectives.

To protect your company, you need to manage risks effectively. You can’t rely on one-size-fits-all cyber security solutions. You also can’t protect your business if your IT security decisions lack coherence and direction and remain disconnected from your company’s goals. Don’t hesitate to contact us for further advice and assistance. We can help you assess your risks and come up with solutions for managing them in a way that best protects your company from IT disasters.

Here come the Thingbots!

Anti-virus, Malware, Security, ,
20160324

As the Internet of Things continues to become more common in our daily lives, the vulnerabilities of these devices will become more apparent and more in need of protection

Information technology experts have been dealing with malware for years now. First, worms, then viruses, then ransomware. Malware re-invented itself as the internet expanded and hackers found new ways to make money through criminal enterprises on the net. That was then; this is now: get ready for the rise of the thingbots.

The Internet of Things

Last year, the internet was awash with stories about the rise of the Internet of Things (IOT). In the new digital world all our smart devices would be able to talk to each other and connect to the smart grid. Our toasters, coffeemakers, baby monitors and our internet-connected cars will communicate with each other and with our smart houses to make our lives so much simpler, organized and automated. The IOT would learn our preferences and our habits and adjust programming based on what they learn about our wants and needs. Some experts estimate that by 2020, a mere four years from now, between 25-50 billion devices will connect to the Internet and, potentially, to each other.

When that happens, IOT will not only take in data about our lives but will send data to other external machines. For example, the smart refrigerator not only keeps tabs on the food in your refrigerator and knows when you need to order particular items. It can send the list of foods you need to order to your smart phone, and then externally to the shopping delivery network that you use.

How do botnets form?

Botnets form when malware takes command over large numbers of computers (the term “bots”, derived from robots) and organizes them into systems (nets). A botnet, then, is a system of computers infected by malware. Botnets are the reason we have most of the hacking, spamming, and malware that we face each year.

As a rule, most of us haven’t worried too much about botnets attacking our computers. They seemed to mostly target the data of Fortune 500 companies or cause denial of service issues. When you hear the numbers of computers infected and controlled by botnets, however, the scale is nothing short of amazing. Just as an example, hackers created one botnet called ZeroAccess. At its height, this botnet reportedly controlled 1.9 million computers around the world in its efforts to commit cyber crimes.

Botnets are a threat to both businesses and personal users. We all use smart devices now. We bring our smart phones, notebooks and tablets to work. Any infection in the business network will spread easily to your personal devices. Similarly, an infected personal device linking to the business network can spread the infection to the network.

Of course, corporate networks usually have more sophisticated anti-malware protections and cyber-security systems than we do at home simply because they have more secret and proprietary information that hackers want to steal. Since there are various types of malware, though, any computer user is at risk. Some botnets send spam, some collect credentials or steal intellectual property, and still others send internet users to malicious websites. Once individual devices are voluntarily connected to each other, who knows what evil hackers will accomplish on a worldwide scale.

So, What are Thingbots?

Thingbots are botnets made of infected devices from the internet of things. Controlled by the owner of the botnet, they have the same capacity for malicious activities as traditional botnet malware.

Wireless routers and modems are the most likely targets for thingbots because they are directly connected to the internet. As our home appliances and workplace machines become fully automated, cyber-security will need to protect data at each segment of connection. The more data points connect, the more companies will need to employ security checkpoints.

To read more about thingbots, read the October 2014 article “Botnet malware: What it is and how to fight it,” on welivesecurity.com.

To talk more about botnets, thingbots, and what it means for your cyber-security, please contact us. We want to help your business stay cyber-secure.