Take note for the Social Media is indeed a potent source of Malware

Social media even though considered to be a vital cog in the communication process tends to possess chinks in its armour through which malware can easily seep into an organization. And in this scenario just to put the point across; the famous breed of malware which gets introduced into an organization through unfettered use of social media popularly tends to comprise of:

• Koobface

The worm is known to target social media biggies such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace along with other social media sites. The main goal of the worm is to gather login information for purposes of building a peer-to-peer botnet.

• Boonana

Written in Java and first reported in late October 2010, Boonana is known to target Macs. The modus operandi of this worm is very much like that of Koobface.

• Bugat

Considered to resemble the infamous keystroke-logging malware Zeus, Bugat is responsible for delivering a large-scale phishing attack against famous social media application LinkedIn. www.pccare247.com

The 5 hidden costs of using free remote access tools for Tech Support

Remote support tools might end up costing you the moon or on a flipside may not even cost you a penny. But pay heed to the latter part, because in spite of ones who think they are saving money might be asking for trouble in the long run. How?? Read on and get a better idea, for we want to let you know what exactly happens when you end up using free remote access tools for support.

Big Hassles Lurk with Free Support tools

-          Inability to add more customers cost-effectively

In spite of legacy tools providing cutting-edge remote access for specific systems and applications, they at the end of the day also leave gaps in security, connectivity, diagnostics and reporting. On the other hand, free remote access and meeting tools also do not offer features for helpdesk managers such as technician monitoring, session reports or customer surveys. Features considered responsible for a more productive helpdesk and a flawless customer support services which enable entities to retain clients.

-          Accentuated helpdesk costs due to ‘management’ sans any data

Whenever helpdesk technicians tend to operate in the absence of comprehensive reporting capabilities, they are left with no data for analysis, to identify trends or predict hotspots. On the other hand, next-generation support tools come in good towards helping track technical issues and creating an atmosphere resulting in IT helpdesk cost savings, increased technician productivity and less downtime for end users; further translating to higher satisfaction.

-          Unhappy and inconvenienced end users

Usage of legacy tools prevents helpdesk from sharing their screen with end users and subsequently training them on new applications or at the same time showing them how recurrent issues could be fixed. To add more to the situation on hand any cutbacks in IT staff, the proliferation of mobile devices and increased worker mobility, seemingly low-cost solutions end up leading to exorbitant end user downtime, lost data and opportunity cost for the business.

-          Less opportunity for adding new services revenue

In the preset era; end users need a great degree of support for smart phones, laptops and desktops – sometimes simultaneously. For any downtime would mean lost productivity, gaps in client service and other issues which would prove harmful for the business. Therefore, it is imperative to address technical issues across varied platforms so that new services would lead to high profits and the very best of service and support.

-          Potential for a tarnished professional image and brand

Free remote support lack customization capabilities big time, nor do they support multiple connection methods for clients. So, in this regards helpdesk and support teams present the best opportunity for promoting a service and making it easier for end users to request support. But then again, on the contrary, if the remote support interface can’t be customized, clients end up missing out on an opportunity to present a professional appearance, gain efficiencies and promote their business.

Keep Cyber attackers at bay with these easy pointers

Lately have you felt your PC has been at the receiving end of attacks launched by Cyber criminals or attackers? Do you feel they are hell bent on ensuring your PC gets reduced to a pile of heap? If yes, then start paying heed to these pointers for they would end up coming in good to bolster the defense mechanism of your PC big time. So, go ahead and read all such pointers in order to bolster your PC’s defense mechanism big time. Starting with:   

·    Get the senior management onboard – The prospect of getting the senior management onboard augurs well because a PC user would always be made aware about the risks and opportunities out there in the cyber world.

·    Take a good hard look as to how prepared your organization is prepared to take on cybercrime – unlike the traditional economic crimes, cybercrime is fast-paced and new risks emerge all the time; meaning the organization needs to bring about a change in its procedures to continually take on such challenges head on.

·       Awareness about the current and emerging cyber environment enables an organization to make well-informed decisions and do the right things at the right times.

·   By setting up a cyber incident response team that can act and adapt quickly – the organization can always end up tracking, do risk-assessment and deal with incidents as soon as they are spotted in a business.

·     Recruiting people with the relevant skills and experience helps in creation of a ‘cyber-aware’ organization that can end up protecting itself better.

·    Taking a tough and clearer stance on cybercrime enables an organization to take the requisite legal action against cyber criminals and announcing what it really intends to do about any future threats and incidents. http://www.pccare247.com/pc-security/malware-removal.html

Beware!! For these processes have a Malicious Intent

Malware – The term is so synonymous with everything that intends to shred the security of our PC into tatters. But then again, also on a flipside, in spite of the entire hullabaloo, not all malware is malicious in intent and is commonly referred to as spyware; malicious software truly hell bent on infiltrating computers every now and then.

A case wherein hackers end up refining the capabilities of malware, expanding the flux technologies in order to obscure the infrastructure and making it even harder to locate their servers. However, in the recent times recent variants have come out that are able to detect when someone is investigating an activity; in order to respond with a flooding attack against an investigator. In short, malware is becoming stickier on target machines and more difficult to shut down.

So, just in case to prepare PC users better, we ended up preparing a list of processes which need to be watched out for in order to take any malware threat head on. Starting with:

ISASS.EXE

A part of Optix.Pro virus, Isass.exe is also better known as the Optix.Pro Trojan that carries along with it a payload ability to disable firewalls, local security protections and the ability to open a backdoor capability for fairly unrestricted access into a PC. The Trojan was a brainchild of someone by the name of s13az3; who at the same instance also ended up being a part of the Evil Eye Software crew.

NVCPL.EXE

A component of W32.SpyBot.S Worm; Nvcpl.exe is a process that is registered as the W32.SpyBot.S worm (It at the same time is also associated with the Yanz.B worm which again is once again just another name). Taking advantage of the Windows LSASS vulnerability, the process creates a buffer overflow, forcing a PC to shut down. Although not necessarily considered to be a particularly destructive piece of malware, it is a nuisance since it continues to access an e-mail address books while at the same time sending spam to contacts.

CRSS.EXE

Crss.exe is a process-forming part of the W32.AGOBOT.GH worm. The spyware worm is distributed via the Internet through e-mail and acquires the form of an e-mail message, in the hope that a PC user would end up opening the hostile attachment. The worm has its own SMTP engine to gather E-mails from a local computer while at the same instance trying to re-distribute itself. Yet, at the same time in worst case circumstances, the worm also ends up allowing attackers to access a PC while stealing personal data and passwords.

SCVHOST.EXE

A part of the W32/Agobot-S virus family, the scvhost.exe file belongs to the Agobot (aka Gaobot) PC worm family. The Trojan ends up spreading itself via networks and allows attackers to access a PC from remote locations, steal their passwords and along with it all forms of Internet banking and personal data.

SVHOST.EXE

Svhost.exe is a process associated with the W32.Mydoom.I@mm worm. The worm is distributed as an e-mail message and requires a PC user to open a hostile attachment. Using the SMTP engine, the MyDoom worm is known to gather e-mails from a local computer in order to redistribute itself. Further, as it would go, the other payload carried by the process was a denial of service attack on the website of SCO Group. But that’s somehow not it, for the later versions of the worm have also been known to carry out denial of service attacks on other sites, and those popularly being Google and Lycos. http://www.pccare247.com/pc-security/malware-removal.html

Data Loss Disasters: Tackle threats head on before they lead to irreparable damages

Often Data leaks and losses can cause an organization to lose significant amount of money on legal, public relations and brand reputational front. So, every time an organization ends up losing a USB stick, CD-ROM or suffers a data breach, the same old questions are asked and those really being was data transported in an unencrypted or an insecure format? Or at the same time have IT security managers failed to grasp the data leak protection dilemma and developed systems — and what strategies do they really have in place to prevent further data leaks and losses.

Reasons leading to Data Losses

There can be many reasons which might end up leading to data losses. But amongst all of them there are a few which would have far reaching consequences than others. Starting with:

• Unintentional emails

In the present times, it would be very easy to fire off an email in haste to the wrong individuals. Better still, as it is the case such instances end up highlighting multiple procedural and policy failings triggered or further compounded by accidental actions of employees. With better security systems put in place and acting as a safety net, these data errors either wouldn’t have happened or at best their effects might have been mitigated. Yet, at the same security systems could have verified the email addresses of the recipient, recognized the content was sensitive and would have proceeded to enforce the company policy of either blocking the email or automatically encrypting it.

• Missing USB stick

With many employees choosing to work from their home on an occasional basis and at the same time carrying work home with them on a USB stick is bound to lead to data theft in a big way. With many USB sticks not secured, the data can—and often does end up turning up at the most unexpected places. As it goes secure USB sticks need to be used in those situations where data loss is anything but always something that is bound to happen sooner or later.

• Rogue employees resorting to stealing of employer’s data

When an employee is allowed uncontrolled access to new data over a lengthy period of time, it is a potential cause for lost business. Although in spite of a range of data security systems in place, there is generally a clear gap in the situation whereby large amounts of sensitive data could be accessed and be copied on to a single workstation at a particular time each week. And as it would be the case, any IT security audit and review system should have the ability to spot such a procedural loophole even in those situations where a security system would be applied on a fit-and-forget basis.

• Corporate responsibility and Social Media

With an organization having social media security controls in place; replete with staff training and procedures defining staff responsibilities such a situation can be easily avoided, since employees would  be unable to access social media services, except wherein expressly allowed only by relevant IT Technical Support systems.