It should be called Mal-Aware!

When you think about or try to list things that you have to manage each day to be productive, you'll find they add up quickly!  Personally and professionally, each of us is responsible for so many items that we've somehow incorporated into regular life, it's is amazing.  Reflect for a minute as I pass through a list that comes to me - obviously not complete but a good start...

• My personal hygene, hair, teeth, shower, skin, etc.
• My nutritional needs, eating all three meals and choosing good healthy foods.
• My automotive needs, it HAS to work perfectly everytime I want to use it. A/C, brakes, tires, wiper fluid, windows up and down. I rely heavily on my vehicle to work well.
• My communication tools - iPhone, XM satellite radio, email for personal and work, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter accounts, these things have to operate properly or I'm a bit off...
• My office environment - the computer, printer, mouse batteries, wide screens in the conference rooms for presentations, this stuff I rely on. (As do many others that trust me to perform)

So now that you've seen my example and done some quick mental hopscotch to parallel to your own list, imagine this. Someone is outside your home before dawn loosening the lug nuts on your driver's side front wheel.  Just because. A person is in the supermarket is slicing open the dental floss packaging and spinning out the 350ft of floss in the container and placing it back empty in the wrapping so carefully, you cannot see it was tampered with when you make your purchase. In a dimly lit room oceans away, a person types code into the body of a pop-up ad. The code secretly stays on your computer, captures your keystrokes, and sends them back to "never-never island" to be used against you fradulently.  What I've just descibed is the now 20+ year old process known as malware creation.  People knowingly trying to undo what you rely upon ever day - the safe operation and security of your computing environment.  Malware is short for malicious software, which are any types of viruses, trojans, rootkits, spyware, tracking cookies designed to disrupt your computing or online experience. Guess what? Defending against this type of threat is also part of my daily "things I always do" list.

Our retail brands, SIGNARAMA and EmbroidMe are ripe for such malware attacks because they exchange graphics, logos, text, photos and lists with customers and suppliers all day every day. Many people know the basics - like to keep their virus software up-to-date and scanning. Most have a firewall software system guarding against known threats that come through your Internet connection vs. through email. We don't just open attachments to mail from sources we don't trust anymore, the past has probably shown us why this practice is ill-advised.  Thumb or USB drives? Handle with care, they are responsible for many security breaches and malware transfers.  So are portable hard drives, popular and inexpensive as they have become.  It's a great practice for me to remind you BEFORE an incident arises that malware defense is imperative.

It takes a new step forward, however, when you consider that it's not just your PC that deserves attention. The first phone virus surfaced 6 or 7 years ago. Tablets soar in popularity.  More targets for the maligned app and software creators!  Any savvy or would-be developers looking to gain noteriety make fictitious or "play" viruses to see how far they'll spread.  Others use this practice of creating hoax viruses to test response methods of the general public or anti-malware firms.  SIGNARAMA and EmbroidMe stores are exposed to many scams involving viruses, trojans and the like.  Scams and virus hoaxes are easily refuted at www.scopes.com and www.sophos.com and www.hoax-slayer.com . Worth a look every once in awhile, some of them are very clever and entertaining. Scams of all types coming from email, malware, pop ups, apps for droids and iPhones, and Macs are a popular target now too.

Currently making headlines are the reports of state sponsored "cyber battles" between China and US-based Google. China retorts by saying the US digitally engineers and controls many of the happenings of the "Arab Spring" that reshapes the political scene in the east.  So as the stakes escalate, your daily "to do" list must include some awareness of what's happening with malware and what disruption would be the result of not paying attention and keeping vigilant. Scams and frauds have always been present, lurking and searching for those who will believe maybe it's not "too good to be true."  PC users, there are many good softwares poised to help keep you safe.  Mac users? I've used Sophos free antivirus software and that looks to be a good option. Tablet and smartphone users - you get the most attention right now because of the popularity of your devices. Just like looking for a new app, you can research and discover means by which you can protect what you do every day.  That is, you reliably use your devices free of interference, intrusion, theft, scam, fraud and the like. Be prepared, be aware!

Comments

[DD Franchise]

This is such an idiotic post, I just kept on reading to see if there was a valuable point. My valiant effort unfortunately went unrewarded.