Knowledge is Safety

There aren’t too many people who would disagree with the classic statement that knowledge is power, but when it comes to the world of IT security, knowledge is much more than just something that allows you to do things that others can’t. When it comes to computing, whether it be for personal or commercial use, knowledge is security. Without knowing what risks you face there is nothing that you can do to put the necessary safeguards in place that would keep you safe, and that is exactly what we would like to help you with.You have probably heard of viruses, just as everyone has, but what are they exactly? Viruses are small pieces of software that are written by people with the intention of either doing harm to another person’s computer, exposing some kind of data for the purposes of theft or targeted advertisement, or to take control of a computer system from a remote location. Each of these comes with its own specifications and each are dealt with in different ways, which is why there are so many different security programs that have been developed to deal with one or more of these types of threats.

Ransomware

Ransomware is one of the most dangerous of the lot, as programs of this type operate specifically to cripple systems. There are many reasons why someone might want to bring your computer to its knees, but one of the main reasons is that when you lose control of your machine, the person behind the ransomware can do anything that they want to it with little or no knowledge on your part that there is someone stealing all of your personal information.

Malware and Adware

Along with Adware, Malware is one of the most common types of viruses in today’s online world. The purpose of Malware is mainly to cause difficulty to users, and it often is a ‘fire and forget’ method of creating chaos that can break certain areas of an operating system, rendering computers unusable. Once this type of virus has spread throughout a system it is very difficult to remove it and a system restore is often required. Adware is similar, but instead of breaking things it leaves traces on the infected system that lets advertisers in. Neither of these is good news for the efficiency and health of the system.