Malware Prevention Tips: At Home AND At Work

Malware is a term used to describe MALicious softWARE, and can encompass many different names, behaviors, types, and goals. Damage from malware can be as minor as having browser popups clutter your desktop, to stealing confidential information or money, destroying data, and compromising or disabling systems and networks.

Malware goes by many names… here are the most common:

1) Viruses are software programs capable of reproducing themselves and causing great harm to your computer
2) Worms are programs that can move from machine to machine automatically
3) Trojan Horses are disguised as useful programs but perform malicious activities on your computer

Tips for Malware Prevention at Home:

1) Password protect your account and your machine
2) Use separate accounts for others- spouse, children, guests, etc
3) Do not browse the web as an administrative user
4) Ensure a firewall is established on each machine to control network connectivity
5) Run system backups on a regular schedule Run anti-virus software and ensure it is up to date

Tips for Malware Prevention At Work:

1) Check on every suspicious link or attachment with the sender prior to opening
2) Type URL addresses directly into the browser instead of clicking on links received in email, IMs, or from social media sites
3) Do not use your work computer for personal tasks (if possible)
4) Carefully observe hardware left sitting around in common areas as suspicious
5) Do not load foreign media onto your computer
6) Carefully review conference swag and free samples as they may not be as innocent as they appear

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