Antivirus PC software

Attracting bugs, viruses, hackers and spam is all part and parcel of using a PC on the internet but there are a few things you can do to stave off all of these unwanted pests. Using the best antivirus systems is the only way to ensure you don’t suffer from any time consuming and expensive problems and you can purchase such brilliance online.

It is nearly impossible to use the internet and not fall foul of some sort of problem whether it be a spyware system that tracks which websites you visit or a phishing scam that takes all of your personal information. With PC protection software the risks of viruses and infections that live solely to obliterate your hard drive will be eliminated and purchasing such software is not tricky.

Everyone can and everyone should! From businesses through to personal users who only use their PC for a few hours every week. The more regularly you use a computer the more likely you will pick up a problem. Don’t make the often expensive mistake of thinking you don’t need antivirus software because you rarely surf the internet, because you do! Viruses by nature worm their way into places where they are not welcome and computer bugs are no different. 

If you, like so many of us, use a PC on the internet but you avoid anything that sounds too technical then don’t panic as protecting your PC from viruses is about as simple as it gets. Complete an online search for a company that offers the best antivirus systems. If you are unsure about what you need then use our antivirus comparison table.

Guest Article by Louise Goldstein

IT security specialist Avira has looked back over ten years and surveyed the role of computer virus protection in 1999, the year when such attacks began to rise sharply.

And it discovered that, having surveyed 5,543 international web surfers to find out how they dealt with the issue of IT security ten years ago, they discovered that only one third had protection installed.

Indeed, the majority of those surveyed – 32% (1,780 users) – didn’t actually own a PC back then. Some 22% of PC owners (1,228 users) had at least basic no-frills protection against viruses on their machines and a further 19% (1,050 users) took a more serious view of the problem and never allowed their computers to operate without the protection of a good antivirus program.

More data showed that 12% (653 users) had absolutely no protection on their computer at the time. And as Avira point, in 1999 malware was not designed to remain undetected for long periods, but instead laid computers low in a matter of minutes. This meant that attacks didn’t go unnoticed for long and according to the survey, 11% (602 users) learned from such an attack, and get protection after the first incident, maintaining it ever since.

Although, somewhat worrying for not only the computer security companies, but also worldwide computer users, is the fact that 4% (230 users) still take a devil-may-care attitude and fail to see the need to protect their PCs against damage. Indeed, this some would say reckless group has managed without virus scanners until now. However, as Avira highlights, today’s malware works so well ‘under cover’ that infected computers often go undiagnosed without the help of virus protection.

This means that many computer users, determined not to use computer security software, might think that there computer is ‘clean’, whereas in reality it could be infected with all manner of bugs and nasties, with the viruses biding their time to attack.

Avira, based in Germany, is a leading global provider of IT security solutions for professional and private use. It boasts domestic and international customers which include well-known companies listed on global stock exchanges, educational establishments and government authorities. And as well as protecting the virtual environment, Avira promotes the Auerbach Foundation for greater protection and security in the real world.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Internet and computer security giant McAfee has outlined details of a Security-as-a-Service strategy to deliver security to businesses large or small as a service in the cloud.

McAfee’s plan to harness the cloud in such a way that means that McAfee can provide an affective and functional portfolio of Security-as-a-Service products to companies and enterprises large or small. These are more cost efficient as they are a single vendor solution to security concerns, which is particularly attractive in this time of economic downturn.

The development of this type of security service has been done in line with growing customer demand. McAfee are reacting to the evidence that shows that IT departments are losing numbers and being stretched to their limits; on top of this Gartner has claimed that even though security risks are on the increase, it looks as though worldwide IT spending will decline at the end of the year 2009.

A benefit of McAfee’s development of security products as a service in the cloud, is that the delivery option of one of the most important aspects of computer usage is flexible. Marc Olesen, SVP and General Manager of McAfee Software-as-a-Service said: “Our customers have told us they want flexibility in their delivery options. It is clear that IT resources need to focus on initiatives that are business critical, while consolidating vendors.”

McAfee’s Security-as-a-Service products works by using combined global threat intelligence from Artemis, TrustedSource and SiteAdvisor, and accumulates millions of data to compile real-time profiles of any suspicious activity. Deviations of the behavior can also be looked out for, ensuring a safeguard against rapidly developing threats. The products deliver web and e-mail protection, including malware, viruses and phishing attacks. All this is done through McAfee’s harnessing of the cloud to provide a unique cloud based management console.

The McAfee Security-as-a-Service technology offers a wide variety in its portfolio, including; McAfee Total Protection Service; McAfee Total Protection Service Extended; McAfee Web Protection Service; and McAfee Vulnerability Assessment.

The plans to harness the cloud in line with developing the Security-as-a-Service provision is there to meet market and customer demands as the ever present need for internet security increases.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

McAfee, one of the world’s largest and most well-used providers of internet and computer security, has released a study demonstrating that it is the level of internet security which has the largest impact upon a consumer’s online shopping habits.

McAfee’s study, conducted by Harris Interactive, does not point to the dire economic environment of today as the main source of concern whilst shopping online.

McAfee Tim Dowling, vice president of McAfee’s Web Security Group, says that this distinction between economic anxiety and internet security worries should be made clear: “Our research suggests that economic concern and price have not affected the way people shop online, but instead security concerns are the driving force behind whether a transaction is completed or terminated.”

To resolve consumer concern over internet security, the McAfee study concludes that the use of trustmarks is a vital part of assuring customers their private details are safe. According to Harris Interactive’s research, 63% of those in the study would not purchase from a site which does not have a displayed trustmark or security policy. Customers believe so strongly in the trustmark system that, in McAfee’s study, one in five would not purchase from a website which did not display one.

These trustmarks have been proved to aptly demonstrate a website’s level of security. A recent Yankee Group whitepaper found that trustmarks, such as the ones used by McAfee SECURE, deliver some of the highest levels of protection. This protection is in turn reflected in the sales of a website. The whitepaper also showed that sites using a McAfee SECURE trustmark see a 12% increase in online sale conversions.

Not only can trustmarks help put consumer worries over safety at bay, but they can help smaller online companies stand shoulder to shoulder with larger retailers. If a smaller website displays a trustmark, this provides the smaller business with an important level of credibility. The McAfee study has even revealed that a third of participants said that they would prefer to buy from a smaller online business if it displayed a trustmark, rather than using a larger company.

McAfee SECURE provides top-class security to the vulnerable customers in question; their trustmarks are only given to websites which pass a multitude of daily tests that rigorously examine the reaction to potential threats. Alongside this, McAfee carries out daily network perimeter scanning and test to ensure spyware and malware is protected against, and conducts business practice review for website owners and online retailers.

Any site using McAfee SECURE can also demonstrate to potential customers PCI-compliance, which is the standard for the payment card industry. If a customer is using McAfee SiteAdvisor, then a site’s trustmark can appear next to the online retailer’s link in a search result. This gives them a way to stand out against others in a long list of results when a customer is searching for an e-tailer website.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

South Korea is coming under repeated attack from hackers and malicious viruses and is, unsurprisingly, pointing the finger at its northern neighbour.

Yet research into the attacks, which affected computers in the U.S. as well as South Korea and centre on web site outages (a server is deliberately swamped as people are directed by a virus into one site at the same time), show that the five IP addressees used to deliver the virus did not originate from North Korea. Rather, they were based ironically in South Korea itself and the U.S, as well as Austria, Georgia and Germany.

South Korea and US officials quickly blocked the five sites, although it is believed that they were being controlled remotely from outside of the five countries. In effect, the creator of the virus was using zombie computers (those unknowingly controlled by a third party), to launch the attack. And the trail from the zombie computers could lead back to North Korea, say US experts.

But the five rogue IP addresses are the tip of the iceberg. South Korea has blocked a further 86 rogue addressees based in 16 countries. This is indeed worrying, but the actual damage caused has been minimal.

The attacks have been linked to other concerted attempts to crash and disrupt other major websites, including the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, the Pentagon, South Korea’s presidential Blue House and the White House.

South Korea’s intelligence agencies believe that their neighbours are to blame, but admit that this is based on technical reasons, as well as circumstantial evidence.

And North Korea is an unpopular state for many reasons, not least for its stance on nuclear missile tests and launches.

Unsurprisingly, the North Koreans have stayed tight lipped over the accusations, but a number of attacks on sites in the South, both governmental and private, continue apace.

But the South Koreans remained convinced that the North was behind the attacks. They highlight the fact that the North are bitterly opposed to a planned cyber warfare exercise between the South and the US. And the South believe that the North has created a special cyber warfare unit which has the main purpose of hacking into South Korean and US military networks.

Nearby Japan takes the threat seriously and is closely monitoring the situation, although no attacks have yet been reported.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Computer security experts are worried that the advances in smartphone technology, such as achieved by the Apple iPhone 3G S will lead to an increased threat of malware.

Basically, as the ability to mobile surf becomes the norm, mobile phones will become just as vulnerable to attack from malware as desktops and laptops.

And what’s more, the popularity of the App Store makes the chance of malware infiltration far higher than before. Experts say that the problems being encountered by PC users now on a daily basis (spam, viruses and identity theft), could become commonplace on mobile phones.

The experts are worried that smartphones, effectively complex multimedia devices which have a number of ways of communicating, and which are updated on a very regular basis, are leaving the security industry trying to play catch up.

So the best solution, claim the experts, is rather than the onus being on the mobile user protecting themselves, is to get the network operators to take control of the situation. They should introduce sophisticated security techniques including anti-flooding technology, anti-spam and virus filtering software, and, blacklisting programmes.

Whether the network operators agree that one of their roles is to act as policemen against malware threats remains to be seen. But if someone doesn’t get a grip on developments soon, warn the security companies, then the situation will get out of hand and mobile surfers will become a happy hunting ground for the cyber criminals.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The recent successes of anti-virus software in keeping many computers out of harms way has ironically led to a change of tactics by many cyber criminals.

Whereas malicious software used to come out sporadically, followed by the occasional variants, it now appears that the people behind the viruses are determining to flood the ether with new copies and their variants, and updated versions of old ‘favourites.’

Mostly this is designed to give the security companies less time to analyse the virus and publish a solution.

If you look at the number of malicious programmes out and about over the years you see startling growth. Way back in 1988, there may have been around 2,000 samples of such programmes. Ten years later that had grown to just under 200,000 and a further ten years on, it had reached an incredible six million.

One security company reported recently that it had seen more malware in 2007 than in the previous 20 years. And 2008 proved even worse.

But the industry is keen to point out that these malicious programmes are not all new types. A large proportion are variants on viruses that have been around for many years, some since the start.

Nonetheless, of the 150,000 new samples of malware being introduced every day, some 30,000 are new types.

And this volume of new and variant viruses is causing a change of approach from the security companies. With fewer viruses out there, the companies used to have the time to examine the programme, create and test a solution, and then issue it to their clients. This has been the acceptable method for at least the last 20 years and it’s now set to change.

Now, speed is of the essence. What is important now is a more general approach, based on the theory that although viruses can take on many forms, from worms to trojans, the basic aim is to subvert a computer. Start from that point and there’s a set logic to what the cyber criminals are trying to achieve.

And now computer security companies are taking a new approach, which questions every file out there. In short, everything is guilty until proved innocent, at which time it can be downloaded and used by the computer.

This new approach, although not bringing tears to the eyes of cyber criminals yet, might at least slow down the relentless introduction of new malware samples.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Following hot on the heals of a Welsh county council being struck by an unknown computer virus, comes news that London council Ealing has suffered a similar fate.

Welsh county council Powys was believed to have been struck down by two separate computer viruses in April. Council chiefs claimed damage was minimal and the mystery virus seemed only to hit Microsoft applications (including Word and Excel) and Adobe Flash software. Email was unaffected, although 500 staff were said to have complained about slow computers and slow surfing times.

Powys computer security chiefs pointed out that they were not alone in having to deal with such problems and that many government departments and official websites had been targeted by malicious hackers.

Ealing appeared to have a slightly different problem from that of Powys, with their telephone system being brought down, emails not working and the internet unobtainable.

Ealing customer services could not be reached by the internal telephone system and only staff direct numbers worked.

Fearing a major computer virus attack, council bosses decided to close down their whole computer system and make checks. The website became unavailable as technicians examined all of the council’s systems.

A spokesperson admitted that Ealing’s computer’s had been threatened by a computer virus and the situation was contained by closing down the system and the threat removed. The spokesperson didn’t elucidate as to whether a virus had been discovered, or what kind it might have been. The spokesperson was also at pains to point out that the council has a comprehensive anti-virus software capability.

But, as with Powys, Ealing seems unsure as to the exact nature of the attack.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Powys County Council was been attacked by two strains of computer viruses in April, 2009.

Officials admit they were attacked, but could not confirm the originators of the viruses. They were keen to point out that no data had been lost, or any system badly compromised.

The viruses attacked both laptops and desktops throughout the county. One councillor complained of a slower than usual laptop, but stated that many staff computers were running so slowly, that their work was disrupted. Eventually the computers recovered their former speed and suffered no long term effects.

The applications that were most hit included Microsoft Word and Excel, and Adobe Flash. The viruses did not seem to have affected email accounts, or their ability to connect to the internet. Staff complaints numbered over 500, but once the problem was recognised, systems were quickly returned to normal.

Security experts were quick to point out that the council certainly wasn’t alone in facing such a problem. They stated that many government departments had been attacked and also that main government websites had also been targeted, including one operated by the National Health Service.

Guest Article by Neil Camp