You’re well-aware of how information loss and theft can seriously damage your enterprise. So , even though you’ve implemented a firewall and security software, these precautions take care of any unattended intrusions into your network. However, many scammers rely on you or your employees giving them permission to download malware onto your system. These scammers steal your information by using these methods.

Fake Updates

If you have several programs running on your systems with the automated updates feature turned on, you may receive several messages a day requesting improvements to your software. You may not give it a second thought when a message box asks you to click a button to accept and install a patch. You simply click it and continue with your work. Unfortunately, hackers rely on this behavior to put fake messages on your system. Clicking any button on such messages may unleash various types of malware on your network.

Email Warnings

You don’t have to worry about opening emails from customers, suppliers, or competitors. In most cases, they can’t infect your system. However, they may purport to come from legitimate sources such as PayPal, your bank, or your service provider. They prompt you to log in to solve an account problem or to update your information. Like the fake update, these email warnings may also be fictitious.

Phishing

Some thieves use phishing, which creates websites designed to look like the original. The fake pages are so good that they are updated every day and may be several levels deep. Their goal is to get you to enter your username and password, which they can then use to steal from your account. An easy phising clue is the URL, if the address doesn’t match the name of the company that owns the website.

Solution

The solution to all these potential issues is the same. Close the originating message and manually browse the website of the requesting company. Download any patches and update the software manually.

For more ways to guard against network intrusions and to improve your network against scammers, please contact us for a free consultation.