You may have seen or heard this scary statistic in the news today - Symantec have revealed that 43 million people have been scared into purchasing fake anti-virus software. I've seen a couple of instances of this simple scam/trick myself, where a very believable pop-up informs you that your PC has been compromised and prompts you to purchase software to fix the issue.
In a way, it's a fraudulent/phishing technique also, as Con Mallon, from Symantec, told BBC News - "Obviously, you're losing your own hard-earned cash up front, but at the back end of that, if you're transacting with these guys online you're offering them credit card details, debit card details and other personal information," he said.
Now, there's no accounting for people that fall for fraudulent schemes, a quick look at the 419 victims will tell you that, but there are genuine ways to protect yourself against these internet-based threats. The MessageLabs Web Protect service protects you from malware and providing URL filtering on a permanent basis. Everybody has anti-virus for their PC, and you probably have a quality virus & spam filter for your email too (if you're using Cobweb Hosted Exchange then you're protected by best in the world – MessageLabs!). It makes sense that your internet connection is protected to the same levels too.
If you're interested in protecting your organisation against web based threats, talk to Cobweb as we can help you – 0845 223 9000
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