In the second quarter of 2010, more than 2 million PCs in the U.S. were recruited by botnets. The sheer number of computers recruited into botnets was lower in other countries, but in some cases the percentage of computers was higher.
Botnet criminals traditionally blitz in anticipation of higher transaction volumes in businesses. The holiday season usually brings increased levels of attacks. Your protection needs to be as strong as possible this time of the year.
Once again, this points out the need to use anti-virus, anti-malware, and anti-spyware. These need to be kept up to date. Many of the infections that I have seen, have been caused by outdated signature and definition files used by the software to identify malicious programs.
Keeping up to date on Operating System Security Patches is just as critical for your Desktops and Servers. Keep these current with the latest patches. Watch for your Microsoft Tuesday Updates and install the critical ones. If you are concerned about the impact of patches on critical systems like your Office Automation, SQL Server, and other Applications, check with your CCS Retail Tech first.
With new attacks coming out every day, the importance of everything being current can not be stressed enough.
Some signs that your computer may be infected include:
- running slow,
- locking up or crashing,
- unusual error messages,
- and not printing correctly.
Any of these signs, or anything else that just does not seem normal, should be a red flag that you may be infected.
More complete information on the number of computers recruited into botnets can be found at http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20019602-83.html?tag=mncol;title
Visit the CCS Retail Malware Resources and Alert Blog for the monitoring systems we provide for our customers Contact CCS Retail Support to help you check your systems and develop your protection plan.