Protect Your Company Against Viruses
| "If
you do not download the newest virus signatures AT LEAST
once a week (we do it every day), then you might as well
call the whole thing off." |
A number of viruses have been popping up in our e-mail boxes lately.
We have had scares over Code Red, SirCam, PE Magistr, and most recently,
Nimda. Luckily, we have managed to keep the damage to our company
minimal, and the spread of viruses to our customers nonexistent.
 Unfortunately,
the same cannot be said for many of our associates, and customers.
I cannot count the number of times I have talked to someone on the
phone recently only to have them tell me they were down because
of a virus. This has gotten me to thinking about why TOPS has done
so well in avoiding viruses while so many other companies have failed.
I wanted to share with you some of the factors that, I believe,
have contributed to our success.
- Software: Buy a good virus protection program. We like
Symantec's Norton Antivirus. Unfortunately, it is not enough to
have the software installed on your machine. You have to keep
it up to date! Every time a new virus comes out, virus protection
companies work frantically to write code that will protect your
machine from THAT virus, but only that one. If another one comes
out tomorrow, they have to write new code to detect it. We call
this the virus' signature. If you do not download the newest virus
signatures AT LEAST once a week (we do it every day), than you
might as well call the whole thing off.
- Vigilance: If you do not know about a virus, you cannot
protect yourself or your company against it. It is vital that
you stay informed on what other companies are being hit with prior
to getting hit yourself. We stay on top because we are subscribed
to several free online newsletters that warn us of virus activity
in the world.
===>>McAfee's Free Virus Alert: http://dispatch.mcafee.com/
- Social Engineering: So many of the viruses that come
lately do not come from strangers, they come from our friends
and acquaintances who have been duped into running the virus themselves.
We get them as e-mail attachments with deceptively friendly names
such as ILOVEYOU. Who wouldn't want to open a file with that name?
This phenomenon is called social engineering. The person writing
the virus is looking for a way to press your buttons, causing
you to pull the trigger that kills your machine. The only defense
we have against this is information (see number 2 above). If you
receive an e-mail that seems strange, or has an attachment with
multiple extensions (trade_show.doc.pif), or has an attachment
that you weren't expecting (readme.exe, or [#$4/*5}_.bat) DO NOT
OPEN IT!!! When you find out about an upcoming virus, don't keep
that information to yourself! Write an e-mail to other people
in your company warning them of the virus as well.
- Hoaxes, a word of caution: When you hear about a new
virus, particularly if it is in an e-mail from a friend or co-worker,
be sure to check the facts BEFORE you pass on the e-mail. For
every true virus that is spread, there are 3 more virus hoaxes.
Watch out for e-mails warning you of dire consequences that are
vastly different (It wipes out your entire hard drive, de-magnetizes
all your zip disks, and then sends porno pictures of Daisy Duck
to all of your friends) these are usually hoaxes.
===>>Symantec's Virus Hoaxes: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
- Internet Security: While the items listed above will
help keep away some of the nasties, nothing beats going to the
source and protecting your internet connection at the point where
it comes into your company. The best way to do this is to install
a firewall. No matter how small your company, everyone can benefit
from a firewall. Wayne and I have one at home for our personal
three computer network, and I cannot tell you how many times that
simple piece of software has kept intrusive programs from running
on our network.
===>>A free firewall program: http://www.tinysoftware.com/pwall.php
Hopefully, this advice will help you to avoid getting hit by any
of the viruses that are traveling on the Information Superhighway.
However, you do need to remember that these are only preventive
maintenance. It is still possible to get hit by viruses, even when
you play by all of the rules.
Andrea
Drennen is the Internet Services Manager, and E-mail Administrator
for TOPS Software.
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