Viruses, eh? Won’t they just go away already? How much easier would it be if they simply didn’t exist? Businesses would save thousands, and stress levels would be much reduced.
One of the really irritating things about viruses is that they’re complicated. You might work really hard on protecting your systems, but Bob from accounting might just download a dodgy file from his email. You might take care to enter details carefully on a secure site, but a keylogger might be tracking your actions. It’s all scary stuff, and you’re right to be cautious about how you proceed.
Of course, a good way to protect your business is often via an IT support company. They’ll know how to best protect your business against the most common viruses and some of the more unexpected ones. Let’s look at that latter category now.
Social Media
It’s lunchtime. You’re browsing Facebook, looking to catch up on the latest happenings in your friend zone. You see something that advertises the latest celeb news, and you click on it to read more. Did you know that this could lead to a virus? Also, be aware that hackers are targeting social media in a big way because we all spend so much time on it. That link you got from your friend might not be as legit as you think.
Online Forums
Many of us still like to browse online forums about our favourite topics, and they can be a great source of help to any business. But, despite the fact that they’re moderated, some threats can slip through the cracks. When this happens, all it takes is a click on the wrong link to infect your business systems immediately.
Email Hoaxes
We’ve heard of these before, but they’re getting more intelligent. Sometimes, you might get an email from someone in Brazil saying you’re owed millions of pounds. Obviously, you need to ignore that. That said, some hackers take a very convincing form of your bank or a friend, for example. You need to watch out for this by looking at the address the email has come from. If you’re in any doubt, don’t click any links.
USB Devices
“Can I put a few files onto my USB stick from your computer?” Who has heard this sort of comment before in a business environment? We need to spread files around the business from time to time, and USB is a convenient way to do it. However, USB sticks can become infected very easily. Then, every system you plug that stick into could become infected, too. That’s a lot of potential damage right there.
Unsecured Wi-Fi
It’s nice to spend your afternoons sitting in Costa Coffee and browsing the web. However, do you know what Wi-Fi you’re logging onto? How do you know that hackers haven’t already broken into that connection? You might be doing some critical work, and they could be getting their hands on your most important information. They might also be uploading dangerous files to your system, causing havoc in the long run.
This article was provided by ellie jo