What are the best practices for protecting computer systems from malware and viruses?

Antivirus is literally our own act of local defense on our Computer against Malware. One important thing we must take note when we have a licensed and reliable antivirus installed on our PC is to frequently update the Antivirus Engine and periodically scan PC for threats.

User training. Phishing is the main avenue bad actors use to obtain access to Corporate devices. Employees get so many emails they need constant training/alerts to question the data they recieve.

Viruses can infect almost any internet-connected device, including computers and smartphones. It is advised to use antivirus software to safeguard your computer and data against malware threats. There are numerous ways to avoid common threats including ransomware, phishing schemes, and crypto-jacking. You can keep safe by following the six actions listed below: 1. Keep your applications and operating system up to date. 2. Install and utilize reliable antivirus software. 3. Make use of two-factor authentication and create strong passwords. 4. Use caution when downloading attachments and clicking on links. 5. Add further protection by using a virtual private network (VPN). 6. Use caution when utilizing free Public WiFi.

Protecting computer systems from malware and viruses is essential to maintain the security and integrity of your data. Here are some best practices to help safeguard your computer systems: Use Antivirus Software, Enable a Firewall, Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and Download Software from Trusted Sources, Use a Standard User Account, Secure Your Wi-Fi Network, Regular Backups, Educate Users, Disable Autorun, Regularly Scan for Malware, Patch Management and Regular Security Audits. Implementing these best practices can significantly reduce the risk of malware and viruses compromising your computer systems and data. Security is an ongoing process, so stay vigilant and proactive in your efforts to protect your systems.

You can no longer just rely on antivirus / anti malware solutions. You now need to use EDR (Extended Detection & Response) built into the next generation of endpoint security products. It can help with quarantining and isolating hosts automatically to both stop the spread of malware but also provide proactivity with IOC’s and unusual behaviours of users and endpoints.

Everyone is vulnerable to an attack at anytime. This is why we need to be prepared an ready to mitigate and contain. Using a strong password is the first step towards a secure environment. However, if the password is compromised it is worthless how many characters it contains as the hacker already has the information. We need to add more security in addition for a strong password like enforcing a policy to change the password every "x" days, multi factor authentication (MFA), 0 trust in the systems, ADM accounts for sensitive apps and the list goes on.

2 Factor Authentication is more important than strong passwords. Even the strongest password can be easily defeated. Multi factor authentication makes intrusion a lot harder.

Not only strong passwords, keep in mind that 50% of the access is also your username. You can make this as complex as you like. Two factor authentication through SMS or Authentication apps secures devices even further. Lastly, if running on a company VPN, it's easy to lock down to IP authentication only for site/platform access.

In addition to strong passwords consider the following to secure you accounts. -Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) -Quality Security Questions -Email Verification -Secure Your Devices -Review Account Activity -Do Not Use Public Computers -Limit Access Permissions -Secure Physical Access -Key Vaults & Credential Managers

Key Takeaways: Install reputable antivirus software and keep it updated regularly to protect your computer system from malware and viruses. Use strong passwords that are unique for each account and change them regularly to prevent unauthorized access to your system. Be cautious of phishing emails and avoid clicking on suspicious links or providing personal information.

Being an IT professional, I have come across many instances wherein people get tempting emails regarding reward, job offers etc. and end up sharing their credentials, financial details with strangers or unintended recipients. Being on the web makes us exposed and vulnerable to the entire world and we must exercise extra caution to avoid getting tempted from suspicious and unknown sources.

Again I would say that end user training is vital. If the end user doesn't know how to identify phishing emails then your security software is not as effective.

Furthermore, - Use a secure browser that can block malicious websites, pop-ups, and downloads. I do use Microsoft Edge, which has SmartScreen technology that warns you if a website or download location is unsafe. You can also adjust your browser’s privacy settings to control what sites can see or do with your personal information. - Be careful about opening email attachments or clicking on links from unknown or suspicious senders. Many viruses and malware are spread through phishing emails that try to trick you into revealing your personal or financial information or installing harmful software. You should always verify the sender’s identity and the content of the email before opening any attachments or links.

Phishing emails always comes in different forms, it's important to always check the email headers to confirm the sender emails. So many hackers will use the names of known companies in their mails but checking the email headers will reveal the email address of the sender which is usually non related to the actual domain of the actual company or organization. It's also important to not click links or open attachments in such emails

This is highly important. It is also where users become a key part of your security equation. Your staff will need to know both how to identify phishing emails and what steps to take. Particularly if they believe their computer has been infected as a result of a phishing email. As the nature of phishing email and related threats evolve you staff need to be kept up to date on the potential threats and have some form of refresher of the identification of phishing emails etc. Otherwise they may get 'naturally lax' are identifying malicious emails over time.

In conclusion, - Use strong and unique passwords for your online accounts and devices and change them regularly. This can prevent hackers from guessing or cracking your passwords and accessing your sensitive data. You can also use a password manager to store and generate secure passwords for you. - Back up your important files and data regularly to an external drive or a cloud service. This can help you recover your data in case of a malware attack, a system crash, or a hardware failure.

You need to validate your backup processes and disaster recovery processes, on a regular basis. Firstly to ensure that they are as complete and effective as they need to be. Additionally, to verify that your backups have not already been compromised. As if your backups have neem compromised it will complicate any data/ service restoration activities that you need to undertake. Remember, in the case of your system being hacked the hacker will 'most likely' have been on your system for some time, before you detect/ become aware of them. As a result, your daily backups, etc., could have been compromised for more than the retention period of your backups.

If it's a corporative environment, use only the approved by the company solutions. That centralized the information and make a swifter recovery.

In the era of ransomware and more, immutable backup filesystems and policies are another critical component to your backup and recovery plan.

Back Ups have always been a very important step in ensuring that there is no data loss in case of hardware failure or in the event of any disaster. There are lots of advancements in the ways we used to take and store back up of our ever growing data, but at the same time, there have also been advancements in the ways the back up data can get corrupted or hacked. One such vulnerability is ransomware attacks which are on the rise these days. These attacks pose threats not only to the primary data but also to the backed up data. Some of the measures to avoid data loss may include keeping back up data at a remote location, using good back up software that not only backs up data but also validates and locks data from unauthorised access.

In fact, I don't agree that software upgrades are solely for the purpose of introducing new functionality. While they frequently do include innovative and appealing features, their main objective is to address bugs and security flaws. Your devices and data may be at risk if you ignore upgrades in favor of maintaining the status quo.

Use of a vulnerability scanner such as Microsoft defender for endpoint can help with ensuring the software on your devices are all up to date, a vulnerability scanner helps by proactively alerting you to vulnerabilities in your environment, this might be things like security policies that could be changed to make your environment secure or applications that need updating across devices. I found that Microsoft Defender is a solid platform with so many capabilities available to help you reduce your attack surface and proactively monitor threats.

Software updates provide new features and ensure security from known vulnerabilities. This is at times a big task depending on the number of softwares, environments such as personal devices and/or work/business devices. Business devices are managed by the owning organisation but for personal devices we need to ensure auto updates are turned on and updates are completed for each important software.

Regularly updating software helps close the door on known vulnerabilities threat actors might exploit. Thus by combining software updates with other security measures such as backups and employee training an organization can leverage defense in depth against cyber threats. Here's an example an acquaintance of mine works as a historic exhibition center and she told me hackers took over the system which required an outside party to intervene. The outside party negotiated a lower ransom payment to regain control of their computer systems. Upon receiving the payment the hackers provided detail information outlining the system vulnerabilities and steps taken to compromise the system and they promised not to hack again.

Always a good security protection activity to do. Though like anti-virus tools, not the primary step to rely on. Depending on the type of update and the scope of implementation within your organisation, you may wish to test the upgrade/ update prior to deployment. In part, to help scope out its impact on the operational services, etc. So, it is recommended that at an organisational level you have formal policies and processes defined around the handling/ distribution of updates, etc. If you employ a BYOD policy, then you will need to have some process in place to ensure staff supplied equipment meets your security and patch update status requirements, etc.

Sometimes you even have to be wary of legitimate websites when downloading material you may need. A good example is PDF files. PDF files can have embedded malicious files or load remote exploits for instance. The exploits used to execute such attacks are utilizing old vulnerabilities, and some anti-virus software will catch them before harm is done. Sometimes even providing a false positive for PDF files that have only circulated internally within a company. Externally or internally originating, it is always safe to scan the files before accessing them.

Another factor not mentioned is being careful offline as well. Physical storage devices should not be easily trusted if found or given to you by a stranger. Most organizations with high levels of security for computers should have stations set up to test these storage devices. Having a computer air-gapped offline is a perfect testing environment to ensure nothing malicious can migrate over to an organization's network.

This is especially important. You can mitigate so many problems in terms of security if you just remain vigilant and think about what you're doing online. Before you download something or click something, look at the URL/link: does it seem like it's appropriate for the site you're visiting? If you're unsure, check with other users via Reddit or other online forums to see if they have used the site before without trouble. Thoroughly read emails and websites to check for any spelling mistakes or odd wording.

A lot of the things can be prevented or mitigated through proper system hardening, security controls, and in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of the OS and all its offerings. Sadly, most people have very rudimentary knowledge of the inner workings and offering of OS as such 99% of SME's and experts only utilize 1% of the capabilities. Auditing is not a security measure.... It is an after the fact measure aka a governance measure.

It's kind of amazing how much drilling knowledge into your end user's brains is. Case in point, we use KnowB4 to conduct monthly phishing tests with our end user's. Between the training that are required when someone new joins the company, and the trainings that occur when someone fails a phishing test, our end users are incredibly diligent when it comes to phishing. This sometimes comes to IT's detriment when we roll out a new app that sends them an informative email or requires intervention on their part, they mark them as spam!

Regular Audits and Scans: Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scans to identify weaknesses that malware could exploit. Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Whenever available, enable 2FA on your accounts. This provides an extra layer of security even if your password is compromised.

Remember, your staff are your primary source of security protection. Though you also need additional layers of protection to optimise your organisations overall data security. Your layers of protection need to work together and minimise possible weaknesses. A certain amount of validation of this security structure is also needed on a regular basis. To ensure it is still fit for purpose and meets current security requirements. Particularly, given that security threats are evolving all the time. You also need effective security training/ refreshment and escalation/ handling policies and procedures. To ensure your staff continue to identify potential security threats and how to handle/ report them.

Be careful when attaching any external drives/storage devices to your computer. Even if you have installed antivirus on your computer, it is always recommended to format external drives/storage devices before using specially when you aren't sure that they are clean or infected. Viruses tend to thrive thru unprotected use of external drives/storage devices if not properly cleaned.