How To Prevent a Malware Attack on Your Business

Of all the cybersecurity threats to your business, malware attacks are the most common kind. Cyberattacks that use malware are a serious threat to every type of business, from small business owners to large corporations. With every year, malware sophistication grows. Fortunately, there are several precautionary steps to take so that your business does not experience a malware attack.

Here’s how to prevent a malware attack on your business: 

First, let’s understand what exactly it is. 

What is malware?

In order to protect yourself and avoid malware, we first need to help you understand what exactly it is. Understand the risk you’re dealing with in order to best protect yourself (that’s what we always say!). Malware is software designed to damage or disable computers and computer systems. Malware has the ability to steal critical information from your system or network, log your keystrokes, steal your login credentials, slow down your Internet connection or leverage your computer to spam others, in addition to much more. Malware can come in the following forms: 

• Adware
• Spyware
• Trojan horses
• Worms
• Ransomware
• Phishing 
• Etc…

Next, we need to be vigilant to the signs of malware attacks.

What are signs of a malware attack? 

• A slow computer (things taking longer to load than usual, etc)
• Pop-ups
• Disabled programs (especially ones that function to protect you against malware attacks)
• Files and icons appearing different all of a sudden (because their extension was modified by malware)

After that, we need to understand how to proactively protect our businesses from malware attacks.

How do I protect my business against malware attacks?

1. 1. Understand the Threat of Malware Attacks: as a business owner, the most important step in protecting your business from malware attacks is being aware of the serious threat that cyberattacks pose to your business and properly investing in protecting yourself. When individuals and businesses are not aware of the potential threat malware attacks pose, and under-invest in this sector, hackers are able to easily gain access to their systems and information. 
   2. Secure Your Network: network security is an extremely important piece of protecting you and your business against malware attacks. It’s crucial to have a modern “smart” firewall in place with an active security subscription to safeguard and monitor access to your network. Without protection, your network and data are at great risk to unauthorized use and activity. Bonus tip: Geo block countries you don’t need your IT infrastructure talking to (i.e., China, Russia, Ukraine, Brazil). This isn’t the end-all solution to stopping all attacks, but it helps by stopping your firewall from talking to known bad actor countries with criminals that aren’t smart enough to disguise their country of origin. 
   3. Install Antivirus, Anti-Malware, and Anti-Ransomware Software: having not one but multiple layers of security is critical in properly protecting against malware attacks. Having multiple security types allows each to compensate for weak points in others, making it much more difficult for hackers to break through. 
   4. Regularly Update Your Systems, Software, and Applications: if you are someone that ignores the update prompt on your computer, you are unnecessarily opening yourself up to heightened risk of malware attack. Developers are constantly updating applications to patch holes and improve weaknesses. When individuals and businesses are not regularly taking advantage of these updates, you are creating an opportunity for hackers. After January 14th, 2020, Windows 7 will NOT receive updates and will become a threat to your business!
   5. Educate Your Employees: your employees can be a level of protection for your business against malware attacks if they are properly informed. Educating employees on the signs of malicious links or phishing scams can make a big difference in the overall protection of your business. 
   6. Ensure the Safety of Your Business from Malware Attacks with Our Team of Professionals (like PK Tech): securing your network, installing antivirus, anti-malware and anti-ransomware software; regularly updating your systems, software and applications; installing encryption software…WE (PK Tech) can help! Hiring a team of professionals to support your business as your proactively protect yourself from malware attacks is critical to proper safety.  

If you have additional questions about malware attacks, or if you’re interested in getting a quote for PK Tech services, we’re here to help answer any questions and provide more information. To contact PK Tech, click here.

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