Malware (Viruses, Spyware, Adware) has evolved over the years from an amateur hobby to a professional profitable business focused on fraud and theft. In 2008, 83 million identities were exposed according to PrivacyRights.org. The amount of malicious code created in 2008 rose to 1.6 million, a 460% increase from 2007 according to Symantec. The makers of malware have developed aggressive strategies to invade your systems leading to costly computer repair services or data corruption.
Below are four different methods to keep malicious code from infecting your computers and network.
Deep packet inspection w/ firewall – According to Symantec, by the end of 2008 over 5,000 websites per day were created with malicious content which can be installed on computers without any user intervention. Deep packet inspection defends your network against these attacks and others by dissecting and examining data packets as they travel through your network. During examination, the content inside the packet is scanned for malicious content and information is extracted, such as the computer it’s destined for and where it originated from. This is helpful because malicious content will be blocked and reports will inform you of which computers are requesting unauthorized content.
Sonicwall’s TZ models will work for small businesses.
Managed Email Monitoring – 1 out of 140 emails have malicious content, and 80% of email is considered spam according to Symantec. Managed email service providers eliminate 99% of spam and malicious threats. Managed email services filter mail for all email accounts and eliminate virtually all threats.
MXLogic will work for small businesses.
Corporate AntiVirus Software – Antivirus programs protect from costly computer repair created by malicious content that may have slipped through the network or loaded from some type of media (cd, flash drive, floppy, etc.). Most business owners understand the importance of installing antivirus software but don’t understand the importance of purchasing the corporate edition as opposed to the store bought home version. The corporate version is preferred because it uses less computer resources, provides a centralized location to mange antivirus applications installed on workstations, reports intrusions, downloads and pushes virus definitions to workstations, and manages license renewal.
Norton 11.0 will work for small businesses.
Employee policies – The best defense won’t work if you take the enemies’ hands and lead them to your command center and give them complete access. Setting clear guidelines for Internet and computer usage is critical to keeping malicious content off your computers. Windows group policies can be used to stop users from breaking computer policies, and deep packet inspection can be used to stop users from breaking Internet policies.
The best way to counter malware is to take an aggressive, proactive approach. Viruses will attempt to penetrate your computers and network. Will you be ready?
