“Your Computer Is Infected!” We’ve all experienced the flashing warning that your computer has been infected with a virus. All of a sudden you are panicking not wanting to make the wrong move or click the wrong button. Playing on that fear, criminals offer a $59.95 quick fix download that doesn’t actually exist. While this is a frightening scenario in any situation, fake antivirus scams can cost your small business financially and drastically reduce productivity due to IT downtime.
Federal investigators and security experts estimate that this scam has extracted at least $1 billion from victims over the past several years. However, don’t think that the victims only include those that pull out their wallet. Sometimes merely clicking on the bogus come-on can deliver other forms of malware that can steal passwords or conscript your computer into a remotely controlled gang called a botnet.
Many small business owners think they are safe because these sorts of things only happen on Web sites their employees wouldn’t visit at work. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Legitimate websites that have been secretly compromised are vital to the success of these criminals. Scam artists write code that crawls the Web looking for known vulnerabilities. Alternatively, criminals can pilfer passwords to log in to websites and add malicious code.
The malicious code must avoid detection if these sites are to remain useful. To outwit real antivirus programs which are updated daily, criminals make cosmetic changes to the code and work to keep ahead of the blacklists that security companies and Web companies maintain to block Web addresses known to be housing malicious software. Google reports that 0.5% of its searches generate known malicious websites. While this might sound low, Google handles more than a billion searches each day, translating to 5 million searches bearing a malicious link.
These scareware tactics are so successful because we all have been programmed to run antivirus protection religiously. Naturally our first inclination is to click “run” when we see a virus protection warning pop up. Consequently, the fake antivirus scam is attractive among criminals because the payoff is immediate and the profits are large.
The Launch Pad’s Business Care Clients enjoy true worry-free IT as all elements of their network are completely managed and monitored 24/7/365 by our expert support team. Our RevITup™ Business Care series not only includes corporate antivirus and antispyware licensing on all servers and desktops, but our automated monitoring instantly detects any potential threats including user accidents and creates a ticket and an immediate alert to our help desk. All of this is included in the monthly fee for Business Care clients.
If you would live to find out more about incorporating this level of protection into your business visit our website or contact Megan Meisner at mmeisner@launchpadonlien.com or call 813-920-0788 x210.