What’s the biggest enemy to online businesses? Malware, of course. Any kind of malicious software that can essentially shut down your ability to conduct business, is a true threat to your company’s success. The revolting thing about malware is that it ruins computers, digital devices, or your website, and then robs you of valuable data.
Regrettably, hackers install this kind of viral software every day on someone’s business and/or personal device all around the world. Did you know that in 2018 alone, over 850 million malware encryptions were created1?
Can you fathom how many businesses received infections last year from all that malware? In this article, Convergent1 shares some poignant facts and information about malware.
We also share hacker secrets and what they look for
to ensure that your business website isn’t the next targeted victim
of infectious online malware.
A Vehement Threat to Your Business Website
In order to defeat or divert an enemy, you must first know who that enemy is and understand its motives. When it comes to malware, there are still people who, unfortunately, aren’t aware of what it is. Simply put, malware is malicious software encryptions that computer hackers create to explicitly steal valuable information. These actions are both illegal and unethical on a global scale. And consequently, once a hacker installs malware into your database, it can immediately cause massive damage. It disables your computer system, data servers, digital devices, and your entire computer network.
No one wants to be a victim of hacking; however, you can take the 1st step today!
Find out if your site has threats with a FREE Website Audit from Convergent1.
How does malware work? Hackers find clever and innovative ways to introduce the encryption to a device in some way by allowing it to take the form an executive-type code, scripts, downloadable content, marketing videos, and other forms of software. They design malware to damage and steal vital data and information.
Malware can also come in many varieties, some more harmful and widespread than others. Typically, malware can infect and disable a computer and any business or personal digital device2. Most people have heard of spyware, worms, computer “viruses,” and so-called “Trojan horses.” These are all types of malware. They can render your computer inoperable. Some do no apparent damage to a computer but have the capability of spying on the user’s shopping, surfing, and other online habits.
So, how could it get on a website? We’re glad you asked;
just continue reading to learn more!
How Does Malware Effect Your Company’s Website?
Malware infections can create problems both large and small. In fact, there are 5 top ways that malware can affect your website. Some of these destructive programs might simply interfere with the look of a site, making it appear jumbled and unreadable. Other, more powerful malware maladies can completely shut an entire website down, render its shopping cart inoperable, remove all of the images, and much more.
Various malicious software encryptions can:
- Put Spam Content on Websites
- Send Users to Other Malware Sites
- Displace the Look of Your Website
- Create Backdoor Access for other Cyber-criminals
- Hide Encryptions in Advertisements on a Site
Unfortunately, most business owners aren’t even aware of how hackers view their site and decide to embed malware. If your website is already vulnerable, for example, having lots of tags and advertisement links and pop-ups, you’re the perfect target. Or, if your site gets a lot of heavy traffic, but you don’t have a regular network monitoring system, you’re also a target. Regardless of whether your business is large, mid-sized, or small, hackers can attack. Are you ready to explore solutions? Keep reading!
Viable Solutions to the Malware Problem
Lastly, there are online marketing companies and IT-support services that can professionally scan your website to confirm malware. Inherently, there’s a beauty in working with professionals that we’ll discuss a little later on in this article.
Some of these agents against malware include powerful scanning technologies, like ReScan, MalCare, SiteGuarding, Web Inspector, Mediscan, and Quttera. These affordable and easy-to-use tools work like do-it-yourself solutions for computers that suffer from mild to moderate malware problems. Though many of these tools do an excellent job of abolishing a wide variety of infections, no program can remove everything. That’s why many business owners turn to professionals to handle their malware problems with the most effective outcomes.
Benefits of Hiring Professionals to Scan Your Business Website
When busy corporate managers bring in experts to deal with the pernicious problem of malware, there are multiple advantages. A few of the reasons that companies use an expert team to remove malware include:
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More Time
Managers inherently understand the value of time better than most people do. That’s why they often hire outside experts to deal with the difficulties of a malware infection. The result? Company personnel doesn’t have to waste their precious time fighting malware. Instead, they can do their jobs and let the website specialists clean the company’s computer networking systems.
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Safety
When professionals deal with malware, there’s no danger that they’ll further damage your system. However, if an inexperienced manager or staffer tries to strip malware from a computer, threat circumstances could drastically change. In fact, the malware threat could grow worse and spread to every business device. Overall, companies should know that professionals are experts and are more familiar with the various forms of malware. And as such, they have experience with dealing with these highly-sensitive codes, etc.
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Peace of Mind
When business owners know that professionals are taking care of the malware problem, they can sleep at night without worry. For example, they won’t have to concern themselves over losing invaluable corporate data or even losing production time. Instead, they can continue focusing on business operations. When professionals are scanning your website and business devices, companies are calm and at peace about continuing in their work.
Start with Professional Assistance
If you manage a small company, the best thing you can do is first utilize one of the online scanning tools to check your website for malware. However, if you already know you have a breach, or you find serious threats to your site, you’ll want to take the next step. Connect with a professional online marketing firm or IT service to allow them to diagnose your site and network system.
Professionals will run diagnostic checks of your entire system and make sure their scanners catch everything. At the same time, they can perform more powerful techniques to help resolve your issues. Overall, companies like Convergent1 in Houston, TX are here to ensure that you get the proper help you need for resolving malware issues.
