Antivirus – A “Must Have” For Computers
Antivirus protection is something that a lot of businesses either don’t think about until it is too late, or install but forget about keeping up to date. By calling in the experts to take care of your antivirus, you are free to concentrate on the important aspects of your business, safe in the knowledge that your company is protected.
Do I Really Need It?
In a word – yes. Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer operation. A virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer, use your e-mail program or company network to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on your hard disk. Once infected, it doesn’t take long for the situation to get out of control.
How Can I Protect Myself?
Firstly, it is essential to remember never to open e-mail attachments unless you know the sender and are expecting the attachment. The same applies to removable storage – never plug in a memory stick or insert a CD from someone you do not know.
This is common sense, but not a solution. Mistakes can happen. Ultimately, the best way to protect yourself and your business is to invest in good antivirus software.
Is “Free” Any Good?
We often get asked about free antivirus software that is available to download. The majority of these are only licensed for personal use, and as such, only provide a relatively low level of protection. Certainly, in our experience, free antivirus products do not offer the protection needed in an office environment. The main problem is that there is no way of centrally controlling the software once it is installed – users can disable, or even uninstall the software. It can also be an onerous task keeping the protection up to date.
Protect Your Business
Business-grade security and protection systems should be administered by a professional. They offer much more than just antivirus – anti-spam, data encryption and web/email content filtering are all becoming more common.
The software is deployed to all computers and servers on the network and is constantly monitored and updated automatically. The system must cover all areas which pose a threat, such as internet browsing, email and instant messaging – these are all potential sources of infection that need to be controlled. Once up and running, a good system should go unnoticed by the majority of users.
If you are concerned about your antivirus situation, or would like some advice, we would be happy to discuss the most appropriate protection system for your business – just give us a call on 01756 707896 for a chat.
For more information on our Antivirus products, and to download free software, please visit our Sophos pages at sophos.skiptonsystems.co.uk.