Why Does Your Office Need Anti-Virus Software?
As most people have realised, anti-virus software is an absolutely essential element of owning a computer or a computer network. It helps keep your computer safe from a range of internet nasties which can find their way into the system with very little effort, and it means that when something is attempting to attack your computer, you will know about it so you know which websites and links to avoid without having to check everything manually.
Viruses, spyware and malware can all be exceptionally damaging for your business. They can slow the system down, steal confidential information and install programs which silently destroy data and the way your computer works until it is eventually unusable. All of these things contribute to a serious decline in efficiency, and if any of these problems spread from your computer to the rest of the system, this can cause a major crisis.
The first issue is that of security. It is likely that you’ll have a lot of private information stored on the office computers about customers, clients and staff, and it is a serious breach of privacy if this reaches the public domain. The public would lose their trust in your company, and it might be almost impossible to restore people’s faith in your business and computer system. Customer’s details may be sold on to marketing firms, or sensitive information may fall into the wrong hands, meaning that passwords, credit card details and health details could stop being private.
A virus-infested system is an inefficient system. Not only will lots of your processing power be taken up running virus-riddled programs, you may also find yourself frustrated by the alterations viruses make to your system. It could be something as simple as redirecting you to a new homepage or changing your browser’s default search bar, but these things can be incredibly annoying and take time to sort out if they have managed to infiltrate your system.
Viruses can also arrive in emails as attachments or links. Anti-virus and anti-spam software can identify this before it ever reaches your inbox so it can be intercepted and dealt with before you ever see it. This prevents you from wasting time deleting endless spam emails and stops any accidental downloads of viruses. Even the most computer-savvy can be caught out by some of the highly convincing new wave of spam emails, which appear to be identical to a genuine email, so it’s important that you keep your anti-virus software up to date to catch any new mutilations of viruses
