How to Protect Your Business From Malware

According to the Business dally. The latest data shows that, Kenya reported some of the highest cyber-attacks cases in Africa in 2020. In comparison to other countries such as South Africa and Nigeria Kenya  had the highest cases in the first  7 months of 2020. This coming from data collected by cyber security firm Kaspersky that showed that Kenya faced more malware attacks of up to 14 million potentially unwanted programs, mainly from pornware and adware.

This means the malware attacks in Kenya accounted for 50 percent of the attacks in Africa, which had a cumulative 28 million in 2020 and 102 million detections of potentially unwanted programs (PUA).

With this in mind, it is no surprise that cyber hacking is fast becoming one of the biggest threats online.

You can protect yourself by learning what malware is, how it spreads, and how to prevent it. As the leading IT Infrastructure firm in Kenya, we believe that your network is only as strong as its weakest link. That’s why our comprehensive assessments examine every facet. Let us help you evaluate your infrastructure for peak performance and security

Before we dive into the TBM tips that are guaranteed to be of help. Let’s start with the basics shall we?

Computer Malware. What is it?

 Malware, short for Malicious software, is any type of software that is designed to harm a computer .

It’s also important to note that it comes in a variety of forms. With the most popular one being, you guessed it! Computer viruses. Others include worms, spyware and a few more listed below.

Spyware- is software that tracks your online activities and surfing habits. Activity tracking, keystroke collection, and harvesting of account information, logins, financial data, and more are all examples of spying capabilities. Spyware can be distributed by taking advantage of program bugs, bundling with legitimate software, or hidden in Trojans. It can transmit personal information like credit card information.

Trojan – A Trojan horse is a form of malware that masquerades as legitimate software but has a malicious intent. A Trojan can pose as a free update, game, or anti-virus program in order to trick the user into installing it. When installed, the Trojan operates secretly in the background to steal confidential information, mount a backdoor, or carry out other malicious acts.

Rasonsomeware- just like the name suggest, refers to when hackers hold your data hostage. It is a form of malware that encrypts your data and demands payment in exchange for its release. It either encrypts files on the hard drive or locks down the device and displays notifications requiring the user to pay the attacker to remove the restrictions and regain access to the machine.

Adware- Kaspersky Lab says PUA systems aren’t necessarily thought of as malicious. They do, however, have a negative impact on the user experience. Adware, for example, floods the user’s computer with advertisements; aggressive monetization software pushes out unwelcomed paid offers; and downloaders can flood the device with applications, some of which are malicious.

So let’s dive in to How to Protect Your Business from Malware.

Keep your computer and software updated- Depending on what software you are using this can be an automated upgrade, for instance, Microsoft and Oracle routinely make upgrades to their software to ensure nothing is susceptible to hackers. Updating your software ensures that hackers are not able to gain access to your computer through vulnerabilities in older and outdated systems.

Use a Strong Password

You probably don’t want to hear this, because you have no more passwords left in you, but you need a strong password as a heightened measure of security. A strong password is one that is difficult to decipher, containing a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols Try to stop using the same password for anything, as some people do. As this makes you even more susceptible to hackings. Protect your usernames and password as if your financial future depends on it, because it actually does.

Think twice before clicking links or downloading anything-  

The rule is simple. If in doubt don’t click on it!

Seen those annoying “click here’’ pop ups whenever you’re online? Or email links from sources you don’t trust. Don’t open those! Or download image attachments from unknown sources.  Microsoft says 44.8 percent of Windows virus infections happen because the computer user clicked on something.

Limit your file-sharing

Make sure your Web browser’s security settings are high enough to detect unauthorized downloads. For Internet Explorer, the medium security setting is the minimum level to use.

Use antivirus software

The best part is, there are some great effective options in the market that are free! So you really have no excuse for not having an antivirus to your machine. Some great free options  include Avast, for windows Microsoft Security Essential. The role of an antivirus is to scan your computer to detect and clean the malware and provide automatic updates to provide enhanced protection against newly created viruses.

Use a firewall – A common assumption is that having an antivirus is equivalent to having a firewall. Quite contrary, the two are not the same, having a firewall prevents malicious attacks by blocking all unauthorized access to or from a private computer.

TBM’s controlled cyber security solutions can secure your network and data.

It’s important to deploy security measures to your IT system to protect from modern threats that gain strength and complexity every day. We can protect your business with a range of software solutions we have implemented, which include:
• Advanced Firewalls
• Security Information and Event Management
• Database security
• Endpoint security
• Online and Mobile security
• Assessments and Security Audits
• Governance, Risk and Compliance etc

Reach out to us today