Do you have the virus protection you need to protect your organization from the viruses around you? How exposed are you to the viruses that attack your system on a daily basis that slow down or lock up your computers and networks? Do you have the time to research whether the latest virus is the "real thing" or just a hoax? Is there anyone on your staff capable of running a virus detection analysis? These are just a few of the questions you need to ask, besides the loss of productivity and the loss of revenue you must consider.
What is a computer virus?
A computer virus is a program – a piece of executable code – that has the unique ability to replicate. Computer viruses can spread rapidly and are often difficult to eradicate. They can attach themselves to just about any type of file and spread as files are sent from individual to individual.
Besides replication, some computer viruses have something else in common. A damage routine can deliver the virus payload. While payloads may only display messages or images, they can also destroy files, reformat your hard drive, or cause other kinds of damage. If the virus doesn’t contain a damage routine, it can still cause trouble by taking up storage space and memory, and downgrading the overall performance of your computer.
Several years ago, most viruses spread primarily via floppy disk, but the internet has introduced new virus distribution mechanisms. With email now used as an important business communication tool, viruses are spreading faster than ever. Viruses attached to email messages can infect an entire enterprise in a matter of minutes, costing companies millions of dollars annually in productivity loss and clean-up expenses.
More than 61,000 have been identified, and 200 new ones are created every month, according to the International Computer Security Association. With numbers like these, it’s safe to say that most organizations will deal regularly with virus outbreaks. Anyone who uses a computer is susceptible.
It is estimated that more than 80% of viruses infect corporate networks via email. Considering that one in 300 emails contains a virus, securing the messaging environment is the first step to keeping the entire enterprise free from harm.
Compounding the virus threat is the potential for malicious code to spread quickly and infect an organization's network before detection. This malicious code can penetrate into a network in a number of ways:
- • It can accompany mobile code on Web pages, Web-based mail, and HTTP and FTP file downloads.
- • Attachments to Web-based email programs;
- • Mobile code such as Java, Java-Script, and ActiveX used to execute simple graphics or animation programs on Web pages;
- • Documents or software downloaded via FTP or HTTP.
