Malware

The term Malware comes from the phrase malicious software.  Malware is a general term which covers viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, adware, scareware, rootkits and any other malicious and/or unwanted software.

Malware programs are increasing at an unprecedented rate. In 1986, there was one known computer virus; three years later, that number had increased to six and by 1990, the total had jumped to 80. By November of that year, viruses were being discovered at the rate of one per week. In a report published by security firm Symantec in 2008, they suggest "the release rate of malicious code and other unwanted programs may be exceeding that of legitimate software applications".

The majority of viruses these days spread through the Internet via email and web pages. Many firewalls and email servers can be configured to prevent these undesirables penetrating your business' network. However, these measures should not be considered as an alternative to desktop protection but as an additional line of defence. Malware doesn't just come from the Internet - it can be introduced to the company's network through portable media as well.

When your employees go online, they’re indirectly connecting with hundreds of millions of other users via the Internet. That alone poses a big threat to the security of your business data – never mind the disruption that comes from a virus infection that puts your network out of commission for hours, even days.  We recommend AVG business security software which takes care of all aspects of security on your small business network – web threats, virus threats, identity theft threats, and more – keeping your staff productive and your network safe from unauthorized access.