Social media malware is avoidable

Submitted article~ 9/15/2011

Socially engineered malware (SEM) remains the most common security threat facing Internet users today, claiming one third of internet users as victims. If you haven’t been infected with it yourself, you almost certainly know someone who has by simply clicking on a bad link through Facebook, Twitter, or Email. Often those links download malware onto your computer, sometimes masquerading as a screen saver or, more often, an antivirus program.
These attacks threaten to compromise, damage, or acquire sensitive personal and corporate information from individuals and organizations. Over the last 12 months, users from America and Europe have found themselves particular targets of malware authors. Cybercriminals are taking advantage of the implied trust relationships inherent in social networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
So what can you do to decrease your exposure to these cybercriminals?
First and foremost, keep your computers operating system and applications up-to-date. This includes performing regular Windows updates; Microsoft releases their larger security updates on the second Tuesday of each month, you can program your Windows Updates to run each Wednesday to ensure you get the latest security patches.
Secondly, keep any Adobe and Java applications updated. Both of these vendors will load an automatic updater by default when the software is installed. When you see the “update available” balloon pop-up, it’s a great idea to take the time to perform the update. These two applications have been found to be the most vulnerable 3rd party applications exploited by cybercriminals.
Thirdly, be sure to keep your Anti-Virus/Security software updated. These applications are not 100 percent effective on catching all malware, so it’s important to use a multi-faceted approach to keep your data and identity safe by incorporating all of the above steps.
Finally, be very suspicious of Facebook and LinkedIn friend requests via email. This is one of the easiest ways to expose your PC to malware and viruses, and the hackers exploit it regularly! It’s much safer to login to your account on the website and verify the request is valid prior to opening any anonymous emails.
With the rise in social media site usage, cybercriminals are bold and innovative in the way they steal your data. Your banking and personal information is under constant threat online and it’s critical that you understand the importance of keeping your computer systems safe. It’s much easier and less expensive to prevent the intrusion, rather than addressing the aftermath of being hacked.
Small businesses are especially vulnerable if plans are not in place to recover from a serious attack. Your plans should include a comprehensive and tested data backup system, appropriate security software on each PC, a plan to recover your critical data, and a way to serve your clients while the recovery is implemented.
If you’re solely placing your trust with an online data backup service and that service is exposed to malware or viruses, or goes off-line, do you have a recovery plan? What if you experienced a hard drive crash? Could you easily recover your data and be up and running in a few hours? Or would you be down for days, or possibly weeks?
When it comes to data security the term “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” rings especially true. If a cybercriminal needs to practice his or her skills prior to graduating to more serious venues, you don’t want them practicing on your computer systems!
Mark Gogan is an independent computer consultant serving the Northeast Valley area. He can be reached at 480-720-0233 or at affordable-help.com.