Viruses have been an annoyance since the 1990s. Back then they were created by “script kiddies” who were testing their programming skills by making self replicating software. Most didn’t do too much harm and were quite easily removed. The rule of thumb was don’t install software from unknown sources and you’d be safe.
However they rapidly evolved and became more of a threat. New ways were discovered to distribute the viruses. First it was network shares which meant every file in the company was a target should your machine get infected. Then it was via email (and mostly still is) where you could not only infect your whole company but everyone in your address book too.
What’s worse, there are now criminal organisations making money by creating viruses and charging to remove them. You can read more on these viruses on our CryptoLocker page.
Until recently virus scanners pretty much all operated the same way: Scan every file on your computer and compare the code to the database of known viruses. As the number of files and the number of viruses in the wild were growing rapidly, even the fastest PCs were ground to a halt by a virus scan.
Enter behavioural based virus management. This software remembers what software you run. If you run new software it will allow you to run it but record everything it does whilst it works out if it’s safe or not. If, after checking the online sources, the program is deemed malicious then it simply rolls back everything it recorded and your system is back to normal.
Selection of a good antivirus program is critical to the continued operation of your business. Don’t be tempted by the “free” ones that have limited functionality and are probably not licensed to use in a business anyway.
We are now recommending WebRoot antivirus as we have seen first hand how effective it is. If you would like to try WebRoot obligation free for a month, let us know and we’ll arrange it on the spot or you can click through below for an instant trial.