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SME Network Security(Basic Series)

Created: 2008-11-04 02:56:45

Make Your Pick : Stay Away from Network Security Threats with the Right Software.
With network security threats on the rise today, an increasingly diverse array of counteracting applications are being made available to personal users and businesses alike. As gathered from network security reports released by major agencies in 2007, we can see that virus is not the major security threat anymore as worms, trojans, spam, spyware and various malicious programs continue to multiply.

Some businesses or brands were being used as attacking fishing baits, 72% for the financial unit; while puppet computers captured by Zombie network and Botnet are also increasing rapidly. In the following sections, we will have a brief introduction on the major security threats posed to individuals and businesses, other than viruses.

Spam
Generally, spam refers to a large number of unsolicited ads or meaningless mails sent without the agreement of the recipients. A 2008 Network Security Trend report points out that there are about 20,000,000,000 spam mails daily in the United Kingdom alone, accounting for 98% of all e-mails. Traditional spam revolves around commercial advertisements, but recent spammers often disguise to be from a certain institution, so as to lead users unknowingly into providing personal data while at the same time, improve their success rates of attacking other computers.

Spyware
Spyware is a computer software installed on a personal computer without user consent. On top of wasting bandwidth, it is a serious threat to information security and privacy as personal information is being relayed to third parties without user knowledge and detection. Spyware are generally divided into ads, keystroke loggers, browser hijackers and a long-distance remote control program. In other words, the advertising program is to display unwelcome ads to track the user browsing habits and send the collected information back to a centralized ad mainframe. Unwelcome ads will then attack the computer and slow down the running speed while keystroke loggers record information of each keystroke that user enters on the keyboard in a bid to steal these passwords. On the other hand, browser hijackers can reset your default home page and search results, or even prohibit the user to reset browser settings or visit specific websites.

Zombie networks or Botnet
As for Zombie Networks or Botnet, network hackers use their own distributed service-blocking attack programs to capture a certain number of computers and organize them into a few control nodes to send fake packets, which will paralyze the target. A public report in July 2008 showed that Zombie networks tried to infect users and expand its network by publishing conspicuous false news. Attacks are mainly targeted at SME and personal websites, especially those in U.S. and China. All kinds of headlines will lure users to click on malicious links, and if the recipients click on a fake video link, a pop-up window will appear and prompt users to install malicious software unknown to them.

Conventional Anti-Virus Software
Many of the anti-virus softwares in the market, possibly due to design defects, not only consume a lot of system resources, but also tend to misjudge common Window system files as viruses, thus destroying them as a result.

As with these conventional programs that provide only anti-virus functions, users are required to purchase and install various programs that can deter other security threats they may face. And with a new generation of integrated security tools, we now find themselves with a bundle of convenient choices! Just one installation and your company’s network security can be equipped with a multitude of defense preferences such as virus protection, spam protection, spyware protection and a personal firewall.

A Full Suite of Integrated Security Tools
ESET NOD32 Smart Security provides integrated security features.

Taking the new ESET NOD32 Smart Security as an example, its spam protection engine has learning functions to scan a fraudulent website; the functions of anti-virus and anti-Trojan can determine whether the file is a trojan spyware while accurate detection technology can locate the known and unknown spyware. When the personal firewall setting is in the "Automatic Mode", the firewall will automatically evaluate a variety of connections and free the safe connection. Only authenticated connections and attacks will be halted, thus reducing the frequency of warning windows appearing in general firewalls. Advanced users can now also opt for the advanced “Rule Model " and customize all settings so as to stay away from the various security threats, whether it is for their individual or business needs.

About ESET NOD32
ESET NOD32 anti-virus software provides an extensive spectrum of anti-virus support for personal and business users, while it consistently achieves 100% detection rate and 0% false positive rate in VB100% tests. It is the only product in the world to obtain this certification 52 times in a row, making it the leading record-holder.
In addition, NOD32 has also won the annual AV-Comparatives test championships in 4 successive years. Written in Assembly Language, NOD32 possesses highly-effective removal functions and the fastest detection speed, outpacing its competitors by an average of 3 to 34 times. (From: Virus Bulletin). Various free virus removal tools are now available for download from the NOD32 site: https://eset.version-2.sg/html/48/46/