Avoiding the Strike-Malware

You’re scrolling through a site on your computer that you are getting to recommend to co-workers, supervisors, or employees. As you get ready to click a link to take you to the next page, a small box appears underneath of your cursor, and suddenly you’re on a completely different site, and there’s something taking over your computer. All you wanted was to read Page 2!!! How do you get your computer back? What is this message telling you that you have 250+ infections!?

Unfortunately, this situation happens every day, and businesses suffer from the time it takes to try and reboot machines, scan for viruses, and then resume work, tentatively poking at buttons on web pages to get tasks completed. Employees frightened that they may get in trouble avoid searching on the web for information to move the organization forward. Business owners start scanning their computer every day for that frigid blue screen of death. The mentality behind your work becomes one of fear. Do I have a virus? Maybe you do.

The truth is that your antivirus can’t stop malware from happening, but it can stop the viruses that malware can bring in if you keep it updated and are consistently invested in using your IT provider to educate employees. Information technology is all about communication, and if employees are avoiding reaching out to their technical support, the organization as a whole can begin to suffer. An IT technician can remote into your machine, identify the issue, and fix the problem a lot faster than simply trying to live with a virus or malware on your machine.

Malware does not always install a virus on your computer, but the programs that are considered malware are often just as detrimental, as they slow down the operating system, cause issues with saving documents or connecting to the internet. These programs can also open up doors for actual viruses to enter, which can wreak havoc on a network, encrypting or destroying data that is desperately needed to keep everything running. To avoid malware and viruses, don’t avoid your IT provider. Talk to your network administrator and have them create policies to encourage best practices if they are not in place already. Your best weapon is not always something you have, but rather the person with the best weapon. In these cases your IT managed services provider has the knowledge and the weapons, and the ability to improve your business.

Article contributed by Nick McCourt, IT Consultant, Tier One Technology Partners

About Tier One Technology Partners: MKS&H’s technology consulting group, Tier One Technology Partners provides your growing organization with IT strategy and effective IT services solutions to keep you one step ahead. Tier One was founded in 2000 in the response to listening to the needs of our clients and the business challenges that they were facing in such a rapidly changing IT environment. Thus, Tier One was developed with the simple goal of being an IT consultant, partner, and support firm.

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