Free Tip #4: Newer, Better Antivirus
Antivirus is part of our Malware learning pack. Malware is a big topic that cannot be fully covered in a single page. This page hits the highlights. Please see the
Malware Learning Pack for more details.
Viruses have come to mean any programs that can find their way on
to your computer and cause harm.
Antivirus Software has come to mean any program that prevents or
cures threats. Viruses are only one form of security threat: there are many
others. The term
Malware is used to describe all categories of threats.
Why is any of this important? Because viruses cause downtime, engender costly repairs and wipe out important data.
How Antivirus Software Works
Malware attacks your computer through external connections. The internet, networks, and other
computers, USB flash drives, CDs/DVDs and any other device or media that holds
files can transfer infections.
No one can reasonably function without connections
to the outside world, but everyone can take precautions. Antivirus software is
a simple, cheap place to start.
Antivirus software's primary job is to match activity on your computer to
known viruses. Antivirus software typically loads a 'database' of virus definitions on your hard drive then matches traffic to that database.
Every once in a while (usually once per week), your antivirus software will check the manufacturers web site and add new virus definitions to your hard drive.
Your software is only as good as the database provided by your manufacturer. Virus capture rates from well known software companies range from 50-99% ... so it's important to check before you buy.
Antivirus software provides a good, inexpensive frontline defense against infections,
but no antivirus suite is perfect. Newer viruses can get through
even strong defenses. Better antivirus software can sometimes block "unknown" malware based on heuristics - programs designed to ferret out malware based on something that looks 'bad', but heuristics generate enough false positives to be annoying.
Follow this link for more details on
How they Work.
"Suites"
Many antivirus programs come tiered, offering different "levels" of protection for different prices. If you're not sure what to buy, don't fool around - simply by the most comprehensive product available. We examine the more popular suites in our
malware learning pack, but we can't get them all. If you want to do more research check the individual software company's web sites.
Spam
Spam is not a virus. Wikipedia defines spam as
"the abuse of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately". We mention spam here because many antivirus software products include software that helps block spam. Tiered products often put spam blockers in separate "firewall" or "internet security" packages, bundlingthem in to higher priced "suites". See our section on
spam for more info.
Firewalls
Your computer constantly interacts with the internet, CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives and other external sources.
Firewalls monitor interactions between your computer or your network and external sources. They allow certain interactions and block others based on a set of rules.
Whoever sets up the firewall makes the rules. Some users set few rules, while others set very complex rules.
Some examples of firewall rules are:
1. Block all access to a specific site.
2. Block all access to a specific category - e.g. pornography.
3. Block all email from a specific sender.
4. Block all email that contains a specific word or phrase in the subject.
Firewalls come in different flavors. You can purchase hardware (called firewall appliances) that have built in programming to protect your network. You can also buy firewall software programs, and you can rout your internet activity through companies that specialize in filtering out unwanted content.
All firewalls have 3 main problems. First, making rules means maintenance. More rules mean more maintenance. Second, firewalls create a lot of false positives - sometimes so many that people will ignore those "annoying" warning messages to their own detriment and allow bad stuff through. Third, firewalls sometimes screen out information you want.
Read our section on
firewalls for more info.
Threats Are Increasing & Changing Rapidly
Over the past five years, threats have tripled. As you download, swap, beam, email andcopy files, your exposure goes up. And new kinds of viruses that aren't in commercial antivirusdatabases("unknown" viruses) are being developed every day.
The Size of Your Practice Matters
If you're practice employs more than a few people, you probably need more sophisticated products. Symantec, McAfee, Kasperski, Bit Defender and other products can manage entire networks from a single computer. Likewise, Servers often require different versions of antivirus software, and Linux machines require different versions as well.
As your practice grows in size, you're more likely to work with 3rd party contractors who would really rather use products they know.
Do Not give them carte blanche to choose: check their antivirus choice against reliable rankings, and don't let them install anything less than 92% effective. Insist if necessary. Good antivirus programs do not differ that radically from one-another.
Best Bets
1. Short Licenses. Antivirus software products are inconsistent over time. Don't commit to licenses for more than 2 years, and check the rankings before you renew.
2. Shop Around. Check Amazon and other popular web vendors for boxed versions of available software products. Some online vendors discount anti-virus software by as much as half.
3. Try Buying By Phone. We've had good success calling the software company direct and asking for discounts. Phone reps are very adept at finding special coupons and volume discounts that we don't see anywhere else. A %50 total discount is not unusual.
4. Popular Does Not Mean Good. Norton/Symantec and McAfee are by far the most popular antivirus software suites in the US today, but
their performance has slipped dramatically:
recent tests show that they trap about 85% of known viruses.
Should You Trust The Antivirus Software Provided By You Internet Company? No. At best, it's no better than the packaged software you buy from the same software company. Check the rankings.
Lesser-known products (G Data 2008, F-Secure, TrustPort and Kasperski ) tested 97+% effective at recognizing and capturing threats.
Given the low cost of installing new antivirus software and the extremely high
cost of virus remediation, it makes sense to review your supplier's effectiveness
rating annually and switch when appropriate.
Click here to see recent
effectiveness ratings.
When Antivirus Measures Fail
Sooner or later, your PC will contract malware. There
are a couple of quick, simple fixes that anyone can try to resolve
persistent threats. If these fixes fail, your PC's hard drive will almost certainly
require reformatting - a process that wipes away all programs and information.
Re-installations are relatively straight forward procedures, but they require
time, patience and good instructions.If you have little spare time or a low
frustration tolerance, call a professional. Virus remediation will typically
cost $200 - 400 per machine: more if you have no backups.
Backups
You have to backup. Period. Not just your personal machine: every machine in your practice needs to be backed up at least to some degree. The cost of restoring a single PC rises by several hundred dollars when no backups exist. Server restorations sometimes take a couple of days and can easily cost $2,500 or more. Data recovery (an additional cost) generally starts at $500/hard drive. And if you have an EMR system, you may not be able to function at all without your servers.
All of these costs are trivial. Downtime is expensive. If you have a 10 person practice (3 doctors and 7 clericals),
your operating costs run more than $750 per hour!
You should have a backup strategy, and a 30-second procedure for checking to see whether your backups ran properly.
"Best practices" really depend on the numbers and kinds of computers you have and on your specific infrastructure. There are many, many cost-effective ways to design a backup strategy. See our section on
backups for more information.
If you can't do it yourself, hire a professional.
