Computers cannot survive by anti-virus software alone

Published February 06, 2014

Over the past few weeks, several widely knows companies have been competing for top spots in many of the major news headlines but, for all the wrong reasons. Retail giant Target, to offer just one recent example, could be forced to pay millions of dollars to cover the direct damages incurred from the recent malware-related data breach that enabled cyber-criminals to steal credit card data from all Target point-of-sale systems located within the United States and Canada. While financial loss is certainly a major concern, the massive hit they will take to their reputation could be incalculable for years to come.

It’s no secret that one of the biggest challenges facing any business is protecting against malware attacks and other cyber-crimes. This recent string of cyber-attacks are some of the biggest (that we know of) in history. They were so massive that the FBI has recently issued a special warning aimed at businesses to tighten up their cyber security infrastructure.

It’s common for most people to say to themselves “As long as Antivirus software is installed and up to date, a computer will be protected.” That’s no longer the case. What worked before doesn’t work now. Standard Antivirus programs are no match for the new zero-day malware outbreaks that are now commonplace in the world of computing. With all of the complex attacks being developed and altered on a daily—sometimes hourly basis, just having Antivirus software installed isn't enough.

Nowadays IT security experts recommend adding a dedicated anti-malware layer to existing endpoint security software to block the barrage of constantly looming cyber threats. That’s why here at New River Computing, we’ve recently started offering Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Enterprise Edition as a part of our overall security portfolio. During our vigorous pre-deployment testing phase, we found that by adding the power Malwarebytes to our current deployments of VIPRE Anti-Virus, the combo proved to be unmatched in catching new vulnerabilities, PUP’s (potentially unwanted programs) and zero-hour malware on live client machines. There’s no better real-world test than that!

Below is a partial list of benefits our clients can gain by adding the power of Malwarebytes to their existing security strategy:

• New River Computing will be able to identify and respond to malware threats in real-time.
• Compatibility with VIPRE Anti-Virus and most other major endpoint security products.
• Detects zero-hour and known Trojans, worms, rootkits, adware, and spyware in real-time.
• File execution blocking prevents malicious threats from executing code and quarantines them.
• Real-time malicious website blocking prevents access to and from known malicious IP addresses.
• Ensures data security and network integrity. Reduces IT helpdesk tickets, ensures user productivity.
• Protects users from downloading malware, hacking attempts, redirects to malicious websites, and “malvertising.”
• Reduce endpoint and network downtime due to malware remediation.
• Prevent data theft.

In addition to all of these benefits, New River Computing can also leverage the power of Threat View to monitor security stats in real-time. It affords us the capability to aggregate the data necessary to evaluate potentially malicious threats on client networks and track user access to potentially malicious websites. Data is streamed to us in convenient chart formats for more efficient security assessment and analysis. We can also track malicious activity on networks by IP address and user login.

You can see why all of these benefits are a must-have in regards to strengthening existing security infrastructures. To find out more about implementing Malwarebytes Anti-Malware technology in your business, please contact Shana, our Business Development Manager and she will fill you in on how easy it is to get started.

Stay Safe!