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Quick: what’s one of the leading causes for all viruses any computer network gets?
User error!
And unfortunately, no matter how good any antivirus program is, it can’t possibly make up for every possible computer virus your users could click on. They could easily thwart your entire data protection plan with a single click!
Some degree of internet safety responsibility sits squarely on the shoulders of your users. It’s up to you to hold regular trainings reminding them of things that are very suspicious and likely would cause trouble if they clicked on them.
Here are some of the key warning signs of things they should not click on:
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- Getting Unexpected E-mails
Hackers design them to release a virus, Trojan, or some other form of malware on your computer system. They may start fraudulent e-mail accounts, steal e-mail addresses, and then spam until they succeed. Or, they may hack someone else’s e-mail account and send a spam to everyone on their contact list.On a very rare occasion, (1 in a million), someone misspells an e-mail address and you get a legit e-mail. With all others, though, they have a link or PDF attachment that you can click.
It doesn’t matter what it is. If you don’t know the sender, your users shouldn’t click on anything in the e-mail they get. - Google’s Paid Ads in Their Search Results are the Only Ones You Should Click
They thoroughly analyze all ads and websites before the ads launch. So you know they are safe places to be.Aside from that, an internet ad can be anything – 100% safe, or 100% dangerous. Your users can exercise their own discretion at home, but at work they just shouldn’t click any ads for any reason (other than those in Google’s search results). - Sites that Simply are Not Workplace Appropriate
Viruses, trojans, worms, and malware abound on relatively unknown websites (and even many known ones). Whatever kind of company you run (healthcare, law firm, manufacturing, etc.), only let your users go to websites necessary for work. Facebook’s a great place to download malicious software, for example. - Never Click on Anything in Forwarded E-mails
You know the friend who forwards you all kinds of e-mails with flash games, pictures, and maybe some jokes too? The pictures – there’s nothing dangerous about them.But if you get a ton of forwards, there may be games or other .exe files that seem fun and cool. They sure look that way, but often they’re designed to unleash a nasty virus behind the scenes.
- Getting Unexpected E-mails
At the End of the Day…Your IT Support team can help
Your IT support team can help you install the right antivirus for your computer network. But remember, a large part of the responsibility is on training your users on proper Internet safety. If you do that, you’ll minimize the number of successful malicious software attacks your computer network experiences.
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