ANTI-VIRUS & ANTI-SPYWARE SOFTWARE

Anyone who has suffered a virus or spyware attack on their computer system, will certainly acknowledge that the damage that can be caused to a system can be catastrophic.  If an infected computer system also hosts a network the risks to other computers attached to both a domestic or business infrastructure can be great.  Such attacks can result in data being lost or completely destroyed, or if the Windows operating system  is so badly affected it may be necessary to carry out a completely new Windows installation.  However, before doing so, an attempt will have to be made to recover any important data from the hard drive, before the installation process begins, otherwise recovery may become very difficult to carry out.

There are currently a number of serious viruses on the Internet, with an estimated 30,000 being created on a daily basis around the world.  A particular breed of infection known as a "Trojan Horse" can be extremely dangerous to systems, and are currently being used to steal information, identities, and persuade users to part with credit card details and make unnecessary payment for software that is in reality "FAKE".  A great deal of Trojan Horse software is released on to the Internet by organised criminal organisations, who take advantage of computers that are inadequately protected.  Many of these "Fraudulent Applications" can appear very authentic to the unsuspecting user, but must be treated with extreme caution, and if in doubt a trained IT professional should be summed to remove the infection in such a way that it does not cause more damage than is necessary.  Many are specifically programmed to do some sort of damage when removed from a system, so particular care and attention must be taken to reduce this threat.

Previously, we have provided access to a range of security products that could be downloaded directly from this website, but due to the frequent upgrades and amount of time required to keep them up to date they have been removed.  It is now intended to offer improved advice on what protection software is available at NO COST to the user and offer an ALERT service to make users aware of the current threats that exist on the Internet, and how to best prevent them accessing computers connected to the Internet.

EMERGENCY PROTECTION ADVICE

It has been brought to our notice by a number of customers that they have received calls from an Asian sounding man purporting to be a representative of Microsoft and offering IT Support Services. During his conversation with a user he will ask the user to carry out a number of tasks designed to give him additional access to the user's computer.  We have contacted Microsoft and confirmed that this individual does NOT represent the company, and we suspect that he may be attempting to gain access to various computers in order to acquire sensitive information relating to a user's financial dealings and similar data. IF YOU RECEIVE SUCH A CALL PLEASE DO NOT COMPLY WITH HIS INSTRUCTIONS BUT GAIN AS MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT HIM AS IS POSSIBLE AND CONTACT YOUR INTERNET PROVIDER FOR FURTHER ADVICE ON EITHER BLOCKING OR TRACING ANY LINKS TO YOUR COMPUTER.  ALTERNATIVELY, CALL A RESPONSIBLE COMPUTER TECHNICIAN IN ORDER THAT YOUR COMPUTER CAN BE CHECKED FOR TRACES OF MALICIOUS SOFTWARE OR KNOWN TROJAN HORSE INFECTIONS THAT COULD BE USED TO INFILTRATE A USER'S COMPUTER.

We will also be providing links to tried and tested protective software and recommend the following three applications to all users at NO COST.

Recommended Antivirus Software

AVG Antivirus Version 9.0  -  This is a full version of one of the award winning FREE Antivirus packages currently in use.

Recommended Antispyware (Anti-Malware) Software

Malwarebytes 1.46  -  Specialist Anti-Spyware software that will remove most of the virile infections.

SpywareBlaster 4.3  -  Offers spyware blocking support to other installed software packages.