 Antivirus
Antivirus software is protective software designed to defend your computer against malicious software. Malicious software or “malware” includes: viruses, Trojans, keyloggers, hijackers, dialers, and other code that vandalizes or steals your computer contents. In order to be an effective defense, your antivirus software needs to run in the background at all times, and should be kept updated so it recognizes new versions of malicious software. In addition to viruses existing on the computer, many viruses are distributed as attachments or links though email. Email Scanning verifies that email and attachments are free from viruses and other malicious code as you download them from your Internet service provider (ISP). For more information on how antivirus software can help your company, please contact us. Antispyware Spyware is software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer, without the user’s informed consent. While the term spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user’s behavior, the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, such as Internet surfing habits, sites that have been visited, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, and redirecting Web browser activity. Spyware is known to change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and/or loss of Internet or functionality of other programs. In an attempt to increase the understanding of spyware, a more formal classification of its included software types is captured under the term privacy-invasive software. While some antivirus software can protect against some spyware, we recommend a solution that involves protection on both types of malware. For more information on how to protect your organization, contact us. |