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IT's Flu Season

     IT's flu season - and not just for you - your computers and servers are also under attack by a wide variety of viruses and malware. This is a look at the issues and how you to "vaccinate" your equipment and protect yourself from costly crashes or even identity theft.

   Ok, so you just got an email from your cell phone company talking about a new deal or package (as shown by the example on the left). Is this really your cell phone company sending you a deal? The answer to that is no, this is an example of spam that is send out by the millions daily, is this a virus? No it could just be spam, but why take the risk. By clicking the link you could be asked for account number and password, where someone could then take that info and purchase a new phone and accessories.

     The same goes for social networking sites, like Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook. You may receive an email from someone you know, stating "they found a funny picture or video of you", or that "they can't believe that someone said this about you!!" Do not click these links! Usually you will see a message stating that you need to download this player or you don't have the right codec to view the file. Odds are if you've clicked that link you will be introduced to my friend Mr. Koobface or one of his many relatives. Suddenly your computer may slowdown or you might get weird pop-ups. There are certain giveaways, like your friends start asking about messages you have been sending, or posting. When you try to go to certain websites you get bounced to others. There is always my personal favorite, and Antivirus program that you have never seen before tells you have a virus and you need to upgrade your software to get rid of it. No matter antivirus program you have it will never ask for your credit card.  

     Here are 6 vital things to do vaccinate your computer and keep it protected in the future:

1. Verify that you actually have an antivirus software installed and running.  So many people have outdated antivirus programs running on their machines, or even worse the original trial antivirus that ran out 6 months ago.  Recommended Free solutions:  Panda Free Cloud Antivirus, Avast, or Malware Bytes' Anti-Malware.  Remember free programs will only do so much and is usually why there is a paid version of all of these.  Recommended solutions for purchase:  Panda Managed Office Protection, Symantec Endpoint Protection, and Kaspersky Internet Security.  Remember as your IT solution we can install and configure your antivirus properly for you.
2. Make sure your antivirus has the latest updates, and is set to update automatically.  Many times as with the Windows Update the update notifications tend to be ignored or cancelled.
3. Don't ignore the messages at the bottom of the screen, they are not for show.  Programs like Spybot, Symantec or Panda will ask you what to do with something if it is not sure what it is.  If you are not sure what it is stop what you are doing and read the message carefully, and if it still doesn't make sense please contact someone more qualified to analyze the situation, like DataCentric.
4. If you fear you may have already been infected, here are a few steps you can try.  Immediately disconnect the computer from the internet, by either, if it is a desktop turning off the internet modem or if it is laptop turning off the wireless.  This will prevent the virus from spreading. Next reboot into safe mode and try to do a system restore.  Depending on the issue it may prevent you from running the system restore.  If there is a USB flash key or thumbdrive near and another computer you can download Malware Byte's AntiMalware and install it on the infected computer.  If it is able to run, then this should hopefully find and quarantine all the issues.  When all else fails contact a professional, like DataCentric, where we will do a diagnostic and repair for $150.
5. Installing more than 1 of the same type of program can really hamper the system.  Having 2 antivirus programs fight over system resources will not only slow down your computer to a crawl but will also prevent either from doing its job correctly
6. Treat the issues!  Never just accept that the computer just acts up. Especially if work is involved, the ripple effect could be catastrophic.  From blacklisting to file corruption and computer and network crashes

In today's world, information is the best weapon to combat viruses and malware.  Subscribing to websites, newsgroups, tweets and blogs will always keep you in the loop of things.  You antivirus provider should have some kind of twitter account or newsletter that they update with the latest info and state of affairs.  We here at DataCentric are on the frontlines in the battle against viruses and malware,  please free to contact us for your free virus scan.