Information Technology Advisors    

Just a few weeks ago, the payroll processing company was the victim of a malware breach in which customers received targeted e-mails purporting to be from the company, but was actually designed to trick people into downloading malware.

Fortunately, PayChoice discovered the security breach in time to avoid widespread disaster: the company confirmed to The Washington Post that the malware downloaded a Trojan horse dubbed "Bredolab," which would have added additional malicious files on the system and disabled host-based intrusion prevention systems.

This and other recent malware scams remind us of the importance and necessity for content and filtering layered IT security solutions! In fact, more than 640,000 web sites and about 5.8 million pages have been infected with malware, according to Dasient. And Google's blacklist of malware-infected sites has more than doubled in the last year, registering as many as 40,000 new sites in one week.

These programs can cause loss of data and personal information that can be devastating to both businesses and individuals. But with Guidant Partner's protection, you can breathe easier. We're here 24/7 to evaluate potential threats and safeguard your procedures in order to protect and manage your system. Here's how we do it:

Managed Firewall. Too many businesses just plug in the firewall and think it will provide the protection they need. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Firewalls must be constantly updated to protect against new hacks and vulnerabilities.

Intrusion Prevention Systems and Malware Protection. Additionally, the hackers have become much more sophisticated. They have learned how to disguise their attacks within legitimate Internet traffic such as web browsing and email. All internet traffic into and out of a business should be examined for these hidden attacks before it ever gets to your servers or workstations.

Content Filtering. Unfortunately, not all Internet use has a legitimate business need. Non-business related Internet use cost businesses a tremendous amount of money. We provide you with the ability to limit how your staff uses the Internet. You can block web-sites (e-Bay, Facebook), types of activity (gambling, pornography), streaming audio/video, music sharing sites, etc.

You can play a part in keeping your system safe just by following a few simple rules:

1. Never click indiscriminately.
2. Cancel Autorun. When you plug in a portable hard disk or flash drive, you computer automatically opens a
   window with preset options to enable file viewing for that drive. Immediately opening a flash drive allows infections
   to access your system, so cancel the window and scan first before opening the drive or any file inside it.
3. Never open suspicious emails.
4. Only download if you must and only from trusted sites.