I give up! (Or, 'I have a licensed and updated anti-virus program yet my computer still got infected!')

Aloha ~

I don't blame anyone who doesn't read or want to read these dismal and depressing posts about the constant onslaught of identity stealing, password robbing, network throttling security threats. I don't want to read the security bulletins either.

The problem is, I can't avoid these daily stories and I can't really give up, because I am your frontline of defense against a multi-million dollar conspiracy of black-hat hackers that are out to steal your money, one way or another.

You think just because you don't do your banking online that you are 'safe'? Please, get over your false bravado. Everyone buys stuff online and everyone has links to others across networks that are important for business or personal reasons and all of these are threatened by the same inherent weaknesses in your system.

Yes, we are a 'Wintel' shop, (MS Windows, Intel Chips), because these systems run the vast majority of the software needed for you and your business to be productive. Since they comprise about 90% of all computers in use, they are indeed the most likely to be attacked and compromised.

This is why we enforce updates that you hate because they make you restart your computer, or wait while I reboot the server. This is why we enforce anti-virus programs which you hate because they are expensive, intrusive and bloated and yet that can only do SO much to protect you. This is why I write these emails, to try to educate you to the threats and how to avoid them.

The bad guys are out there, writing viruses, perfecting exploits, infecting legitimate websites and raking in the dough 24/7/365. Our AV programs and computers are updated once per week on average. We put our hands on your system only when we have to and that leaves you vulnerable and at the mercy of your own judgment, which if past experience is any indication, isn't that great.

Let's face it, emails, links, websites, even PDF files are now infected with various forms of ever more devious and malicious code meant to embed themselves and exploit weaknesses in your due diligence and Microsoft's gaping security holes.

What can a small 3 man company like MB Technologies do to protect you from yourself and from them? Force you to do those updates!
Keep your AV software licensed and up to date!
Keep knocking out these emails with some brevity and pointed observations to force you to pay attention to everything you do and every communication over the computer you initiate or respond to.

What happens next is that we lock down access to the internets and force the users to go through more security procedures to protect you from yourself and the rest of the users and no one wants that.

Questions? Concerns? Let me know. I can take it! :)

Brian

Simple Reminder: Be the conscious creator of your experience.