5 Worst Computer Viruses

Computer viruses can be a nightmare. Some can wipe out the information on a hard drive, tie up traffic on a computer network for hours, turn an innocent machine into a zombie and replicate and send themselves to other computers.  Cyber crime costs the Canadian business market and staggering $2.3 billion dollars annually. 

Being exposed or a victim of a cyber attack is one of the top concerns for many small and medium size businesses today.

It’s important to establish and maintain cyber security strategies and principles with your employees. Establish basic security practices and policies for employees, such as requiring strong passwords, and establish appropriate Internet use guidelines that detail penalties for violating company cyber security policies. Establish rules of behavior describing how to handle and protect customer information and other vital data from a cyber attack.

While most businesses, approximately 88%, whom have experienced ransomware, virus or brute force attack, were concerned with the prospect of future cyber-attacks, only 28% suggested they would add cyber security within the next year.

Computer viruses have been around for almost as long as computers. Criminals finding a backdoor into your data and financials are as innovative as ever. 

5 Worst Computer Viruses:

• Melissa – the Melissa computer virus tempts recipients into opening a document with an e-mail message like “Here is that document you asked for, don’t show it to anybody else.” Once activated, the virus replicates itself and sends itself out to the top 50 people in the recipient’s e-mail address book.
• ILOVEYOU – ILOVEYOU virus initially traveled the Internet by e-mail, just like the Melissa virus. The subject of the e-mail said that the message was a love letter from a secret admirer. An attachment in the e-mail was what caused all the trouble. This virus hid itself through systems, adding files and continuing to copy itself through messaging services
• The Klez Virus – basic Klez worm infected a victim’s computer through an e-mail message, replicated itself and then sent itself to people in the victim’s address book. Some variations of the Klez virus carried other harmful programs that could render a victim’s computer inoperable. Depending on the version, the Klez virus could act like a normal computer virus, a worm or a Trojan horse. It could even disable virus-scanning software and pose as a virus-removal tool
• Code Red and Code Red II – worms exploited an operating system vulnerability that was found in machines running Windows 2000 and Windows NT. The worm creates a backdoor into the computer’s operating system, allowing a remote user to access and control the machine. The person behind the virus can access information from the victim’s computer or even use the infected computer to commit crimes.
• SQL Slammer/Sapphire – the virus brought down several important systems including banks, cities and flights. By some estimates, the virus caused more than $1 billion in damages before patches and antivirus software caught up to the problem. The Slammer virus taught a valuable lesson: It’s not enough to make sure you have the latest patches and antivirus software. Hackers will always look for a way to exploit any weakness, particularly if the vulnerability isn’t widely known. 

Don’t wait until your business has to spend time and resources attempting a recovery of systems, data or financials. Protect you and your clinets with proactive support and cyber secuirty best practices. A quality MSP Support can provide peace of mind and reliability in case of a cyber attack on your business.