Viruses, Phishing Malware Oh My!

Internet viruses, phishing emails and malware is on the rise in 2020. Not surprising considering more and more people are working at home due to shelter in place orders. Even before the shelter in place working from home is a continuing trend.

With kids finishing out the school year utilizing online tools and email the risks are even greater to mistakenly click or open something you should not have.

First rule to follow is never click on anything that is sent to you through email unless your 100% sure the sender is who they say they are. Even banks, well known websites and utility companies get their emails and web sites spoofed. Spoofing is just pretending to make the fake site or email look authentic to the real company’s site or email. A good practice if you get an email from a company, whether bank, utility company, credit card company or any email with links, is to go to the company’s web site and sign on through the company’s main portal.

According to safetydetectives.com over 70% of Americans are worried about personal data being stolen. This is a good thing. It means that security is on people’s minds. Make sure your malware, virus protection software and firewall are always up to date.

Some other area’s some may overlook is regular updates for everyday programs that are used. Such as Microsoft office. While they are great at finding and fixing holes that hackers find to infiltrate it is ultimately up to you to make sure you keep these programs up to date. Schedule your computers to do automatic updates during off hours that the computers are not in use. According to safetydetectives.com 38% of malware is now being disguised as a word doc.

Another source for malware attacks on the rise at an ever-increasing rate is smartphones. Hackers safetydetectives. com states that 24,000 malicious aps are blocked every day. It is an incorrect rumor that Apple products do not get malware or viruses and this is true when it comes to smart phones as well. Android and Apple are both targets of hackers who create malware which they plant in the android and Apple stores just waiting for an unsuspecting victim to download and run their aps. Malware for the smartphone is generally targeted towards older or outdated aps. Keep your aps updated and get rid of aps you do not use on a regular basis.

9 out of 10 cyber-attacks begin with a phishing email. The whole goal is to get you to click the link in the email. About 92% of security incidents are because of emails. 6% percent are from browser-based malware according to safetydetectives.com.

The Enterprise recently talked with one of Young Counties leading authorities on cyber security and computer related repairs. Brian the Computer Guy owner operator of BWM Computer Repair and Service located in Graham, Tx. Brian strongly recommends that individuals take a cyber security class.

Staysafeonline.org has a great deal of free information on how to stay safe online as well as what to do if you become a victim.

For information on malware and computer virus protection, computer upgrades and repairs or for remote help through your computer you can contact Brian the Computer Guy at BWM Computer Repair and service at 940-282-0290 or visit his business at 2017 State Highway 16 S, Ste D Graham, Texas