Keep it safe: Sharing with Surevine. Week 5 Anti-Malware

Welcome our fifth instalment in a series of blogs we are publishing each week, all under the title “Keep it safe: Sharing with Surevine”.

In our first post we introduced the series, with our theme of Passwords, and focussed on Password Storage.

In week 2 we took it one step further, and talked about Password Complexity.

Week 3 was Beyond Passwords and dealt with 2FA.

And last week (week 4) we talked phone pins, and why we all need so many passwords.

That wrapped up the series on Passwords, and this week we are moving on to…

Anti-Malware

“Malware” is a new word for “virus”, but “malware” is a much wider range of bad software that could attack you. The most concerning malware is the sort of software that steals your identity* and sends it back to a controller.

*”Identity” could be usernames, passwords, credit card details etc. and you are very unlikely to know that it happened, until it’s too late.

Malware is generally given access to your computer through getting you to click on some sort of dodgy link. They install themselves quietly onto websites and just sit there infecting visitors.

Most of the big search engines do some limited checking for such malware, but generally you should avoid too much surfing on your work machine and ensure you have some anti-malware software installed. There have been a few brand name sites that have fallen foul of such problems.

There are many different software packages for blocking malware from being downloaded or scanning your computer. If you do install something it is very important to keep it up to date, most packages offer an auto-update feature that you can turn on and forget. We recommend you do just this.

What to do if you get infected by malware?

If you do find some malware, the first thing to do is disconnect from the network (disconnect cable and/or turn off WiFi). Do not reconnect until it has been cleared by someone who knows what they are doing. Some forms of malware now cannot be removed!

Please tell us if you have shared information with us and have been infected, so that we can reset your passwords and check for any unauthorised access.

It sounds to us like you are now ready for Encryption…