Simplex-IT BizBlog

If you use the internet in your work or at home, you are facing threats to your corporate and individual fiscal well-being that you may not even be aware of.  The dangers are real and should not be taken lightly.

Here are some sobering statistics:

• 25,000-40,000 web sites are newly infected each day with viruses or malware
• 60,000 unique, suspicious files are reported to Sophos, our anti-virus partner, each day
• That represents a 50% increase over last year!

“But I’m protected”, you say. “I have an anti-virus solution already in place. “

Good for you! That shows you are at least thinking in the right direction. But are you confident you have the best anti-virus solution in place? At Simplex-IT we encounter many IT systems and of course they use a variety of AV software. Unfortunately, we have found that in all too many cases the solutions do not always offer the highest levels of protection and customer support. That’s why we strongly encourage our clients to use Sophos. And now a new industry report is reinforcing our recommendations.

AV Comparatives is an Austrian Non-Profit-Organization which provides independent Anti-Virus software tests free to the public. In a recent performance test on the impact of anti-virus software on system performance, Sophos was given their highest “Advanced +” rating, ahead of all other major vendors. This is an endorsement of Sophos’ dedication to provide the most advanced security to their clients and underscores Simplex-IT’s confidence in recommending them to our clients.

You can read the entire report here: http://bit.ly/dXAG6C

If you would like to investigate how Sophos Anti-Virus can make your organization more efficient and secure, contact Simplex-IT at 234.380.1277 or email John@Simplex-IT.com. We’d be happy to meet with you and present you with our ideas.

When it takes money out of your pocket. Or it reveals your credit card information to international crooks. Or maybe when it captures your PII (Personally Identifiable Information) and steals your identity. When it’s a fake!

How could this happen? Easy. You’re on the internet and you click a link on what appears to be an otherwise legitimate website. Like Google, for example. Unbeknownst to you your web browser is directed to a corrupt site that loads malware on your computer. All of a sudden you are looking at a screen that’s saying your computer is infected with viruses!

But, you think, you already have an anti-virus program! Yet your screen is insistent, it looks convincing  and it’s telling you to Click Here to remove these nasty files. Before you know it you’re being prompted to type in your credit card information so you can get a program that’s promising to do what your anti-virus program was supposed to be doing in the first place. And from there, it’s all downhill!

They’re known as Fake AV or Fake AntiVirus, Rogue AntiVirus, Rougues or ScareWare. They’re a type of malware that displays false alert messages to the victim concerning threats that do not really exist. These alerts then prompt users to visit a website where they will be asked to pay for these not-existent threats to be cleaned up. The FakeAV will continue to send these annoying and intrusive alerts until a payment is made.

Here’s an example of how this scam works. Although it focuses on a hot topic that’s recently been in the news this fake anti-virus message can be triggered from untold numbers of websites. Take a look:

Fake anti-virus hackers exploit engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton

So how do you protect yourself? If you’re a small-to-medium business you can protect both your business and your employees by calling Simplex-IT. We have a variety of solutions that will help to prevent these infected websites from ever loading on your network, the most recent of these being our most recently introduced (see our earlier blog entry) OpenDNS Enterprise (www.opendns.com). One of the many services provided by our newest partner is its ability to block malware sites like these based on a list that’s updated on a daily basis.

Of course, your best defense against any threat is simply being aware. Hopefully this blog entry has helped move you in this direction.

For more information on what else you can do, call Simplex-IT at 234.380.1277 or email John@Simplex-IT.com. The peace of mind you save may be your own!