Technological innovation over the years has provided organizations with the best tools to drive their business operations. Topping to the list of technology innovation that is most used in today's techno savvy business environment is the Internet which has given a business houses a worldwide access to enter newer markets. Further, the concept of the world wide web has slowly but steadily moved into the enterprises to form a widely networked global organization.However, the internet has become indispensable today. Though it plays a major role in providing a fast and easy method of electronic communication in both day-to-day business and the social circles, it also challenges the internet user with security threats, frauds and phishing attacks. Thus organizations need to do away with ineffective security measures and cater advanced tools to protect the people and process to ensure safety of the business operations. Sophisticated technology alone cannot withstand the pressures from malicious attacks, but require proactive initiatives and timely implementation to control the phishing attacks.The phishing attacks are ways and means to extract critical information from the unsuspecting internet or network end users. With the information extracted in the form of passwords, user name or other basic critical information either personal or professional, these fraudsters then extend their operations to dig out deeper information vital for the organization, leading to security breaches. The standard phishing protection solutions used by most of the organizations address the technology and the process used and some solutions also addresses the people risk factor. However, today's technology based highly networked business organizations need effective anti-phishing software that will cover all aspects of phishing protection.Enterprises today use anti-phishing tools to provide organizations with estimates of security awareness among the employees, identifies data leakage and evaluates data loss and prevention. Further, eminent service providers deploy simulated phishing attacks to prepare the employees with the necessary knowledge to handle real-time attacks. The anti-phishing software also benefits organizations to -??? Assess their employees awareness level on social engineering and its side effects.??? Estimate the probable hazards associated with phishing??? Provides a "road map" solution for ensuring security awareness within the enterprise??? Recognizes the weak links from among the people, method and technology??? Prioritizes remedial action by benchmarking and maturity analysisSuch effective diagnostic anti-Phishing software will help to increase employee awareness against Phishing attacks and safeguard business critical information from the hands of the malicious organizations need to do away with ineffective security measures and cater advanced tools to protect the people and process to ensure safety of the business operations.
Category: malware
How Can You Prepare For The Next Conficker Worm?
So just like many IT professionals you fell fowl of the conficker worm? I am sure every IT professional has a plan for disaster should it ever occur but the conficker worm bit us all in the backside - why? Well, the truth is that not only was this a clever infection that outwitted most antivirus programs but it also took advantage of our lack of preparation when it comes to being fully prepared against malicious attack.Here is a checklist that hopefully will enlighten you and also help you prepare against future problems:1. Do not use simple passwords.This is a simple mistake to make for IT professionals and users alike. Choosing 'password' as your password is inviting trouble. Many hackers and malicious coders will take advantage here. You should have a minimum complexity for your passwords.2. Do not simplify your network share permissions.If you are an IT professional you should know what this means. It means basically do not use the 'everyone' group in your network shares. You should tighten it up and use specific domain groups and only use the minimum required permissions or hackers will again take advantage of this lapse in security.3. Use a good antivirus program.More importantly keep it up to date! If you use a client/server program then this is fairly easy to do but make sure all visitors to your network have adequate protection also.4. Keep your network patched with updates.Antivirus programs are designed to keep attacks out, not necessarily to deal with it once on board. Remember this and keep all of your software including your operating system bang up to date with the latest patches. This could be server updates or client security updates. Microsoft have since developed patches to cover up the weakness in their system that the conficker worm took advantage of, who knows what else is lurking? Guys, keep it patched.5. Prepare for the worst.You may never be able to keep all infections out so be prepared with good up to date images of your machines. Also make sure that all data is backed up properly and you are prepared for disaster with a quick recover should the worst occur.In conclusion do not become lazy when it comes to a good disaster recovery plan. Make sure you use antivirus and it is up to date, make sure your servers and your client computers are all up to date. Ensure you use strong passwords and minimal network shares. If you have images and copies of your software and data backups you are on your way to being prepared for when the next generation of conficker worm or it's equivalent comes looking for trouble.
What is Cyber Virus And How Can it Affect Your Computer?
Is your computer hit by some kind of cyber virus? Have you found your computer frequently crashed down or run slower and slower? Wondering why your computer is acting so weird after you installed some free software? As a primary computer user, maybe you are feeling headache with the problem of your computer, but please don't worry because reading this article will help you understand virus better. A general instruction of cyber virus Virus is a computer program designed by intentional cyber hackers that can sneak into user's computer and infect other programs by modifying them in such a way as to include a copy of itself. It's a kind of code that damage or erase data, files, or software programs in your computer. Virus can reproduce and spread itself through Internet when users download infected file or click on malicious code on illegal sites or pages. Once the virus is embedded into your computer, it will immediately start to damage or destroy your system and mess up your computer. What's worse, it can be controlled by the hackers remotely so that it has the ability to steal your personal information or confidential data and then transfer them to the hackers behind for illegal purpose. The common categories of cyber viruses 1). Screen locking malware This kind of malware usually locks your computer immediately once they get in. What you see is that your computer screen has been totally occupied by a page pretending to be warning from local police department of government and with a scaring message stating your online activities have been detected as illegal movements thus you need to follow its instruction which guides you send a certain payment of fine by online transfer otherwise you will face a serious law issue then probably be put in jail really soon and your computer will continue to be locked until the payment is done. If you have been the one to believe this notice is from real government department and actually have paid the fine, I may say you have unfortunately became a fool to believe such a scam malware because this scaring message from so-called local department of police is definitely a scam aiming at robbing money as much as possible from timid people who has a guilty conscience. I bet you still can't get your computer unlock even you have paid the fine online. The most typical one is the Fake FBI virus which is rather popular all over the world recently, for more information about it please click here. Hackers created and updated them all the time to acquire their dirty money and achieve their immoral targets. 2). Trojan horse virus Trojan horse virus, usually is called Trojans for short, is defined as a type of virus that masquerades as a system file or helpful program with the purpose of granting a hacker unauthorized access to a computer. It's one kind of really tough and nasty virus that can cause critical damage to your computer. This kind of virus acts rather trickily in your computer and it's very difficult to be found out and removed from the system. One typical feature that departs it from normal computer virus is that Trojan virus does not attempt to inject themselves into other files like a computer virus. Trojan horses can make copies of themselves, steal information, or harm their host computer systems. Many Trojan viruses rely on drive-by downloads or install via online games or internet driven applications in order to reach target computers. Once your computer is infected by Trojan virus, it will attack your programs and files, block the internet visit, and make your system crash down. So this virus should be removed immediately before it wreaks chaos. Definitely it will bring nightmare to computer users who have unfortunately got this devil within their computers. 3). Fake antivirus This kind of virus is recognized as a horrible fake antivirus that pretends to scan your computer thoroughly acting like an authentic and powerful anti-virus software. Usually the interface of this fake program is just similar to the real anti-virus program. It aims at luring computer victims to purchase its full version which is definitely a scam. Once the fake program is installed, the virus can update itself and invade your computer deeply with other threats such as malware and spyware. After scanning, the rogue program displays that your computer maintains many virus infected items needed to be deleted soon. In fact, all fake security warnings are just false information that cheats unknown users for their money. The fake security program is a malware infection itself, so even the full edition of the fake program is never possible to detect and remove any type of computer viruses and other security threats. Don't ever trust such a fake security scanning program which is designed to attack your computer and violate your privacy aggressively. The virus can records your computer data and browser history to gather your precious information for remote hackers by design. In such an urgent situation, you need to uninstall such a nasty rogue program completely and promptly. Some tips to help you protect your computer from virus infection 1???Be cautious when clicking unknown links from sites that you are not familiar with because it can point your browser to download threats or visit malicious web site. 2???Do not download unknown free software or shareware that have not been widely proven to be trustful. 3???Avoid opening unknown attachments from spam emails because it may contain Trojan virus or other malicious programs. 4???Update your Windows system in time or else your system will be vulnerable. 5) Keep the firewall defender running so it can protect your system to some extent. 6) Make sure there is a password protecting your WIFI network which can help to avoid hacker's attack.
What is a Program Labeled ‘Malware’?
Malware that has become common these days is often confused with other forms of internet threats. Usually malware is a malicious threat in the form of software or program that can render the computer unusable. This sounds absolutely fine while looking at it casually, but by getting closer you will find its three sub groups known as viruses, adware and spyware. These threats are basically distinguished by the way in which they inflict and spread.By getting to know about these threats you can easily construe the meaning of malware and understand the entire thing because of which these programs can be labeled as malware.VirusesViruses are the most used term to describe online threats for your computer and everyone is aware of these. Viruses are authored mainly by cyber offenders to harm your computer, multiplying itself and taking away the control of your system. Viruses can harm your PC as these can deceitfully attach themselves to benign files to get into the system without your knowledge. Viruses can also affect as worm that is known for its quick replication. So viruses, Trojans, worms all are malware but not all malware are viruses.Computer viruses refer to discrete programs that infect certain executable software and spreads to other software in case they are run. It is highly probable that viruses contain a payload that often performs other malicious actions that you cannot see.SpywareMost of us are acquainted with the term "spying" from which the name spyware is inspired. Spyware is a malware species that observes and reports about it to cyber criminals. They make a log about your activities without letting you know anything about their presence. They are designed to capture your keystroke, every mouse movement and the websites that you visit. Thus they cause huge damage to the host computer.AdwareSpyware is another sub group of malware that is in the first place very annoying as it appears through pop ups during web browsing. These pop ups are meant to redirect you to a different website containing the malicious agents. Adware refers to those unwanted applications that get installed on your system without your consent.What labels a program as malware?You can say that it is the purpose or intent of the program that defines its category. If a program has malicious ends then it as a malware. Moreover, if a program is made to perform deceitful tasks like stealing your data, corrupting your program files and monitoring of your activities then it is certainly a malware. Malware is highly annoying and is purposed to expose your vital data as well as privacy. It is therefore essential to get your PC protected with an updated antivirus software or end point security system.