PC-Security

Have you just noticed that your computer is running slow lately, using a lot of Internet bandwidth for no reason at all? Read on and we will reveal to you how can we help resolve this issue.

Adware is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertisements to a computer after the software is installed on it or while the application is being used.

Spyware is a type of malware that is installed surreptitiously on personal computers to collect information about users, their computer or browsing habits without their consent.

Threats are evolving by the second. It's no longer just about viruses. Spyware, trojans, worms, rootkits, bots and phishing attacks are all on the rise.

Malware writers are constantly reworking their code to evade security defenses. The ESET Threat Center features resources to understand the nature of these evolving threats, their impact on your business, and why proactive protection is so important.

• The total number of unique phishing reports submitted to APWG in January 2008 was 29,284 an increase of over 3,600 reports from the previous month (Anti-Phishing Working Group)
• In 2007, 3.6 million adults lost a total of $3.2 billion as a result of phishing attacks in the United States. (Source: Gartner, Inc.)
• One out of every ten sites on the Web is infected with "drive-by" malware — malware that automatically installs itself on a computer when it visits a site (Google research, 2007)
• Annual worldwide economic damages from malware exceeded $13 Billion in 2006, which is $10 Billion more than in 1997 (2007 Malware Report, Computer Economics)

That is not all though. The anti-virus software must be updated on a daily basis. That is one of the superior features of anti-virus software as it downloads a list of new bugs and fixes on to your system. This means that, for instance, if a new virus BLAM32 is released today, and you have been updating your virus database daily, you will receive all the necessary protection for your system against BLAM32.

As is often said in security, "Anti-virus software is only as good as its' last update". Merely 73% of individuals update their anti-virus regularly, leaving more and more holes for viruses to pick at.

The most common effect of a virus infection, reported by 70 percent of respondents, was rendering a PC unavailable to the user, the study found. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said that viruses had cost productivity, while 37 percent reported loss of data. ICSA Labs research 2002

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From Fiji IT experts at Avonsys