The independent, blind survey of 200 IT administrators who work at U.S. organizations with fewer than 150 employees was conducted by Opinion Matters on behalf of GFI Software™. The survey results highlight the backup behaviors of IT administrators, including methods of managing data backup, the frequency and speed of data backup and the impacts of a failed backup.

Managing data backup

One way to prevent data loss is to back up critical business files on a daily basis. However, more than half (53%) of the organizations surveyed revealed they do not conduct daily backups.  IT admins indicated the biggest reason for not backing up data every day is that it’s not an efficient use of their time, according to nearly one-third (32%) of respondents. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of IT admins said backing up data that frequently is “not necessary” or that there’s “not much data” to backup. In direct contrast, 10% of IT admins said the biggest reason for do not conducting a daily backup is because they have too much data. Other respondents suggested they do not conduct backups every day because they lack the resources, efficient technology or sufficient storage space. Some respondents – including 75% of those who work at organizations with 50-99 employees – said daily backups are disruptive to workplace productivity.

The need for speed

When asked how their current data backup processes could be improved, the number one factor cited was speed, with half of respondents indicating they wish their current backup processes were faster or more efficient. Other factors included cost (14%), security (6%) and reliability (5%), while an additional 6% said they wish their organization’s data backup processes were managed by a third-party.

Cloud concerns

Nearly two-thirds of organizations are not managing their data backup through the cloud, instead they are relying upon on-premise or virtual data backup solutions.  Respondents cited cost, security and reliability as top concerns with a cloud-based backup solution. Others suggested they prefer to have complete control over their data backup, while some indicated they were still considering their backup options. One in ten organizations relies upon a hybrid approach to data backup. One IT admin indicated cloud-based backup is only part of the solution. “We still recommend a physical backup because of a possible internet outage.”

Data loss

In order to protect critical information, companies need to regularly test their backup solutions to ensure they work properly. However, nearly one-third (32%) of IT administrators surveyed revealed their organizations do not conduct such tests. The healthcare industry is among the most lax, with two-thirds of respondents revealing they do not test their backup solutions for effectiveness. Perhaps not coincidentally, two-thirds of respondents in the healthcare industry revealed their organization has experienced a data loss. Other industries in which a high percentage of companies do not test the effectiveness of their backup solutions include: sales, media and marketing (63%) and architecture, engineering and building (56%).

Data recovery

Successful data backup is critical. But equally, if not more important, is the ability to recover that data when needed. While only 6% of respondents rely on daily data recovery, one in five respondents indicated they need to recover their data on at least a weekly basis.  Additionally, nearly three-quarters (74%) of IT admins said they recover their data at least once every six months.

Those respondents who indicated they were not able to recover data due to a failed backup cited loss of revenue and critical business documents as the biggest impacts on their business. Other IT admins said their organizations suffered the following consequences:

• The loss of data “caused weeks of problems with clients.”
• “We lost records pertinent to our organization that were unable to be duplicated and had to be reinvented.”
• The impact of the data loss was “…huge, in terms of meeting deadlines and productivity.”

See more survey results here

View the UK version of the infographic

GFI Software™ report reveals employees regularly read email during weddings, funerals and other family events 

The conventional, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., five-day work week is a thing of the past for the overwhelming majority of workers at small to mid-sized businesses, according to a new survey on work-related email habits. Due to the widespread availability and use of smartphones and tablets, email is more accessible than ever and, as a result, it has become deeply embedded in the daily workplace and personal lives of most employees. The independent, blind survey of 503 employees in workplaces in the U.S. was conducted by Opinion Matters on behalf of GFI Software. The results highlight employee habits around email usage, including response frequency during the workday as well as after hours.

The new 24/7 paradigm

• Based on the reported email habits of survey respondents, the line between work and home life has become blurred. More than three-quarters of respondents (81%) said they check their work email on weekends, 55% check email after 11 p.m. and 59% keep on top of their work email while on vacation.

• Outside of regular work hours, more than six in 10 (64%) check email at least once a day. 12% of employees said they check work email in real time beyond the standard workday.

• One in 10 respondents admitted to checking work email at a child’s school event, 9% at a wedding, and 6% at a funeral. An additional 6% said they logged into their work email while they or their spouse was in labor.

• On the flip side, nearly one-third (30%) of employees also said they send personal emails from their work account.

Email used at the office more than any other form of communication

• Despite the growing use of instant messaging platforms, email dwarfs other forms of office communication.  44% of respondents use email at work more than any other communications format, with 28% relying primarily on the phone, 22% on face-to-face, and 6% on instant messaging.

• Email is a constant presence in the lives of employees during the workday. More than three-quarters (76%) of respondents said they typically reply to emails within one hour during work hours, with nearly one-third of them (32%) replying within 15 minutes.

An organizational and business intelligence tool

• Many employees use email for more than just communicating. Well over half (58%) use it as a means of storing and retrieving information.

• Nearly two-thirds (62%) of respondents use specific folders to organize their email for easier access, and 29% of employees archive their email.

• The oldest saved email by a survey respondent was received back in 1994.

• Less than one-quarter (24%) of employees said they use their email as a business intelligence tool, identifying a massive missed opportunity to extract value from email data.

Differences among regions and professions   

• Employees in the Southwest are the quickest to respond to email, with 42% replying within 15 minutes of an email arriving. Only 27% of residents in the Midwest respond as quickly.

• Residents of the Southwest are most likely to have checked their email while they or their spouse was in labor (14%). Just 3% of employees in the Northeast have done so.

• Professionals who say they have checked email at a funeral are more likely to work in IT and telecommunications (14%) and finance (13%). People working in sales, media and marketing and health care said they have never checked email at a funeral.

•  Legal (38%), IT and telecommunications (32%), and manufacturing (34%) professionals are more likely to respond to emails within 15 minutes. Professionals who think that responding to an email within one working day is sufficient are more apt to work in education (23%), retail, catering and leisure (20%) and arts and culture (20%).

• Employees at larger companies are more likely to check email during off hours.  Two-thirds (66%) of respondents who work at companies with fewer than 10 employees  check email outside of regular work hours, while 75% of those who work at large companies said the same.

• During vacations, 74% of sales, media and marketing professionals said they check their email. In contrast, less than half (46%) of manufacturing and utilities employees do so.

Overwhelmingly, email is viewed positively, not negatively   

• Workers overwhelmingly appreciate the value of email, despite its omnipresence in daily life. 90% of respondents said email is a “blessing,” with just one in ten (10%) considering it a “curse.” Regardless of all the stresses and strains that a deluge of email can bring, it is still preferred to the way we used to work.

For more information and to view the results of a similar survey in the UK, check out our research brief here.

View the UK version of the infographic

The stresses of the IT administrator continue to become a mainstay of office culture that people see as inevitability. Whether their time is spent dealing with issues that should never have occurred in the first place or explaining common knowledge to end users, IT admins often feel that they are working far outside the scope of their job description and that they are continually underappreciated.

With that in mind, GFI Software™ surveyed more than 400 IT administrators in the US and the UK to gauge their stress levels and the various workplace issues that factor into them. Among the stressors were managers, lack of budget and lack of additional IT staff, but end users are always a particular source of stress. As one respondent put it when asked about the ridiculous things that end users do, “just showing up is usually bad enough.” You can read the full results here, but in the meantime, here are some of the more outlandish and (surprisingly) common issues that IT admins say they face when dealing with end users and the questions they wish they could ask.

Why did you feed your machine?

It’s hard enough to keep machines healthy and networks running smoothly in the face of cyber threats, regular maintenance and plain old aging hardware. It doesn’t help when end users consistently fail to take basic steps to care for the work-issued hardware with which they have been entrusted. A large number of admins recounted times when users inexplicably used their DVD drives as cup holders, not only endangering the computer’s life, but also that of the user. Even with proper beverage placement, spills will happen, but IT admins then face uncomfortable conversations with users who refuse to admit that the spill was theirs.

Would you treat a person that way?

IT admins are often baffled by the complete lack of common sense that some end users seem to have. Time that could be spent addressing legitimate IT issues or performing time-intensive maintenance is wasted when admins are called to “fix” computers that aren’t plugged in or turned on. One respondent reported having to help a user that broke the plastic connector on an Ethernet cable by trying to force it into a telephone jack, while another became angry because a non-touch screen computer was not responding when touched.

One of the most puzzling responses described an encounter with an end user that would say “my screen messes up when I do this” before “violently twisting the screen on their laptop.”

You just don’t care, do you?

While clueless users can be a hassle, IT admins have an even harder time dealing with careless individuals who generate avoidable problems and then complain when it isn’t dealt with immediately. Multiple respondents said that they had been called to clean malware off users’ systems because they had been visiting inappropriate sites and one of them even left the window open and didn’t try to hide it. Another left their device in a public place and grew irate when the IT staff said that they did not have any way to track it down. Most IT administrators would say that they didn’t sign up to clean up others’ messes, but they often find themselves doing just that.

What’s the problem again?

Admins also express frustration over having to become de facto teachers for users who don’t have the most basic computer skills such as the ability to turn their computer on, restart their system or to find a key on the keyboard. They are also often surprised at users’ inability to answer simple questions that would speed troubleshooting processes along.

One admin reported that an employee responded “Microsoft Word” when asked which operating system their PC was running on. Another recounted a time that he was called to explain “if a zero was the letter zero or the number.”

Are you sure you should be working from home unsupervised?

One admin reported that during a support call with a remote user, this exchange actually occurred:

“When I asked what version of windows they were running I was told they have patio doors. Good old days on the help desk for home workers.”

Do you have any idea what I’m actually supposed to be doing?

Some users view IT admins as office handymen or really emphasize the “information” part of information technology, and regularly call the help desk with questions about burned out light bulbs in the office or about what time it is in a foreign country.

Did you just destroy my network?

Most of these issues with end users are mere annoyances and can be remedied quickly. But several respondents had to throw their hands up at one point when their entire network was crashed by a user. Although they didn’t get into details, comments like “crashed our system” and “destroyed whole IT department” sound much more serious than the average screw up.

Similar to the findings in last year’s first annual GFI IT Admin Stress Survey, end users are still inadvertently deleting important files, inserting media into the wrong slots, responding to obvious phishing attempts and downloading malicious files. It is interesting to note that in general, employees seem to be aware that their actions when using company hardware have consequences and are monitored by the IT staff. In fact one survey respondent described an employee that would cover his machine’s webcam with a sticky note for fear that IT was watching him remotely. However, this does not seem to cut down on the number of end users caught sleeping on the job, browsing non-work related sites or endangering the company network with careless web browsing.

Maybe having an annual System Administrator Appreciation Day just isn’t enough. Ultimately, IT administrators are there to protect users’ machines and ensure that everything is running smoothly so that others can do their work without worrying about whether their PCs are going to work properly that day.

Have you ever been the person that caused an unnecessary problem for your IT department and later felt guilty about it? Are you an IT administrator with an IT horror story that no one believes? Let us know in the comment section below.

Find out more about the survey results.

SMBs have long used Web filtering solutions, like GFI WebMonitor, to prevent the productivity, bandwidth and security issues associated with Web browsing in the workplace. But, with telecommuting on the rise and more companies giving employees laptops and notebooks to access corporate resources remotely, IT managers have lost visibility into browsing activity on work-issued devices – posing legal liabilities for the company, among other risks.

To help businesses overcome this challenge, GFI WebMonitor’s new roaming agent extends corporate browsing policies and filtering protection to laptops and notebooks running outside of the corporate network – and does so without compromising connectivity speeds. With this feature in place, IT managers can trust that road warriors, remote employees and workers who take their devices home at night are held to the same Internet usage policies that in-house employees follow. This capability is also beneficial for small businesses that use laptops and notebooks as their primary computing devices.

For maximum flexibility, GFI WebMonitor’s roaming Web filtering agent enables IT managers to create and apply different filtering policies depending on a device’s location. For example, streaming media may be allowed once a device leaves the corporate network, but specific categories of websites, such as gambling and adult sites, remain inaccessible. Additionally, GFI WebMonitor is now able to log Web access activity occurring outside of the corporate network in addition to in-house activity and provide full reporting capabilities regardless of a user’s location.

Want to learn more about this product? Check out GFI WebMonitor and find out how your business can get even more from web filtering, or register for a free trial and give it a spin today!

GFI FaxMaker Online is based on a monthly subscription model that allows instant access and easily scales to meet an organization’s faxing needs, enabling both fax-to-email and email-to-fax communications within minutes of signup. Benefits include:

• Email-to-fax and fax-to-email capabilities: Send and receive faxes from any email client or email server, whether in the cloud or on premise.
• Print-to-fax functionality: Allows for printing to fax from any application that can print.
• Multiple email-to-fax formats: Document formats doc and docx, xls and xlsx, pdf, html, txt, rtf, ppt and .pptx formats are supported when sending a fax via email.
• Easy-to-use administration portal: The online dashboard provides a clear view of usage and offers account management capabilities across departments and users.

Sending and receiving documents by fax is of paramount importance to businesses in several key industries, including healthcare organizations, law firms and financial services companies, which continue to rely on fax communications to meet security and compliance regulations, along with retaining the legal admissibility of documents sent electronically from point to point. In an independent blind survey of 1,008 office workers conducted by Opinion Matters on behalf of GFI Software in October 2012, 85% of respondents said their businesses continue to make use of faxing in some capacity.

The survey also revealed potential security problems with traditional paper faxing, with nearly half of respondents (49%) admitting that they had read a paper fax that was intended for someone else. As a completely paperless solution, GFI FaxMaker Online eliminates the possibility of a paper fax getting into the wrong hands by ensuring faxes are routed directly to the intended individual or workgroup recipient.

Learn more on how your business can benefit from GFI FaxMaker Online, or start your free 30-day trial today!

Active network and server monitoring provides real-time, active monitoring of assets, network infrastructure, applications and services. These advanced monitoring checks work in conjunction with GFI EventsManager’s log-based monitoring system to track different operational aspects of the IT environment, including the functionality and availability of network protocols, performance of network devices, and usage and performance of server and infrastructure services. This unique combination of features also equips admins with the information required to quickly and easily troubleshoot incidents reported by the active monitoring system.

The latest version of GFI EventsManager also includes enhanced console security to help companies comply with industry guidelines requiring that data access is granted on a “need-to-know” basis. IT admins can now enforce discretionary data access by assigning specific computers to each EventsManager user. By doing so, IT can grant users admission into the GFI EventsManager console while limiting their access to only the configuration, reporting and log browsing data coming from the computers they manage.

Additional features in the latest version of GFI EventsManager include:

• Flexible storage options – EventsManager’s database has been enhanced to include physical deletion of event logs in a secure and audited manner. This new feature frees up disk space occupied by deleted events. Adding another layer of flexible storage, IT admins now also have the ability to log data directly to remote storage for data centralization purposes.
• Anti-tampering protection – In addition to encrypted storage and controlled access to data within the EventsManager console, the solution also now includes the ability to hash log data to further protect against attempts to damage log data from outside the product.
• Log support by default – A new XML parsing schema, available by default, enables admins to collect, analyze, interpret and store data contained in XML files. An added DHCP text log parsing schema enables audit and monitoring of DHCP IP assignments on Windows^® DHCP servers.
• Import/export functionality – EventsManager now includes the ability to import and export events to/from other EventsManager databases based on a schedule, as well as optionally based on filters. IT admins can now move event data between two databases as well.

Learn more about what GFI EventsManager can do for you, or start a free trial today.

1. MySpace comeback

A recent study shows that MySpace is one of the poorest performing social media platforms of 2012; however, its latest site redesign and strategy could be enticing enough for netizens to give it a second (or third) chance. If MySpace becomes as buzz worthy as Google+ prior to its launch, we can expect criminals to take advantage of this. Expect a first-off shenanigan like bogus MySpace invites for this one.

2. The debate on BYOD will go on

For some, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) was already a reality even before the term was invented and security measures were instituted in the company. It seems this policy is already bound to happen as more and more people bring and use their own personal devices. Now that an increasing number of employees and enterprises are embracing this policy, serious questions on security come in. As long as security remains an issue that is not addressed, BYOD will continue to be a hot topic of debate.

3. Online criminals will continue to bait mobile users with fake apps

Regardless of a security measure in place, people are still finding bogus apps served on Google Play. It is now up to the users to fend for themselves by checking and double-checking the credibility of the app creators.

4. Phishing, other scams, hacking and malware will continue to target gamers

Gamers on any gaming platform (Steam, PC, PS2, XBox, even social networking sites) have been subjected to phishing attacks and malware attacks in the past. Whether gamers are entering their account credentials to sleek looking bogus gaming sites to which they were redirected from an email or downloading a keygen for their games, the gaming industry is a market cybercriminals will not fail to exploit.

5. Social media platforms will continue to be rife with web threats

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr make it easy for anyone to share and see shared posts in real time. This, however, can also mean that what you’re sharing might lead someone to panic unnecessarily, click a link that will take them to fill in surveys, or download and install something to their system.

6. There’s still that issue of passwords

It’s very alarming to see that bad passwords used a couple of years back are still being used now. As long as internet users continue to ignore the liabilities of recycling and reusing passwords, creating passwords that are too short and predictable, more accounts and sites will be in the hands of criminals.

7. Compromising/defacing sites will remain a means to express online protest and “tough love”

This so-called “Hacking for a cause” will continue as a means to protest against an ideology, law, philosophy, etc

8. Vulnerabilities in third party software

Hackers will continue to target 3rd party programs, such as Adobe Flash, Oracle Java, and Adobe Acrobat for software vulnerabilities. They realize patching 3rd party applications is an area that many IT admins simply do not address. The solution to this would be to run a product that provides patch management for 3rd party applications, such as GFI LanGuard.

9. Social engineering – you can’t patch people

Hackers will continue targeting employees, by sending them emails that look legitimate, in hopes that the user falls for their trap. These emails may contain malicious attachments or URLs that point to malicious websites. IT admins should ensure they have an antivirus solution installed on the server and endpoints, as well as have the ability to filter malicious URLs.

10. Data loss

Nearly everyone at one point in their life has lost a mobile device, such as a smart phone. With increase in employees following the “Bring Your Own Device” trend, IT admins need to know which devices are actually connected to their networks. They need to put policies in place that allow them to locate, lock, or wipe the device, and the employee needs to sign an agreement stating they approve of this. If the employee wants to connect their personal device to the corporate network, they have to agree to the terms set in place by the IT admin. If the admin has no way of tracking/wiping these devices, sensitive data may be lost, or put into the wrong hands.

11. Data theft

Miscreants will continue targeting high profile companies, in hopes of gaining access to sensitive data. We have seen the Anonymous group in 2010-2012 breach several corporations and government entities, and believe they will continue to do so in 2013. Typically, they are performing SQLi attacks, or SQL injection attacks, which allow them to reveal sensitive data stored in databases. IT admins should not only perform 3rd party audits of their web servers, but also have a contingency plan, in the event something goes wrong.

12. Mobile threats

Mobile threats will continue to escalate into a bigger problem for enterprises. Hackers realize that IT admins do not necessarily run an antivirus solution on their mobile endpoints, and as such, will target them. Malware is being created to steal data from Android devices. In order to keep this attack vector under control, corporations need to put security policies in place, which include installing an antivirus solution on mobile devices.

13. Cloud-based storage services havoc

More and more enterprises will use cloud-based storage services to store corporate data to allow for easy access when users are mobile. This is a nightmare for IT administrators because they have no clue where the data is going. Cloud-based storage services can be installed on any machine or device and so data is also accessed in many ways. Admins will need to regulate and control how cloud-based storage services are used in a corporate environment. Cloud services may also bypass content checking features in antivirus and anti-spam products because data is not being sent by email.

Do you have any other predictions for 2013? Leave us a comment below and let us know!

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The survey also found that 45% of Americans believe the average telecommuter saves themselves from traveling 21-50 miles per day. This statistic becomes even more interesting given that the survey revealed 80% of Americans say that saving money on gas and having no daily commute are among the biggest benefits of working from home. The survey also showed further benefits Americans see when telecommuting including:

• Improved work/life balance – 53.56%
• Lower stress and better health – 51.98%
• Ability to complete household chores while working – 50.4%
• No involvement in office gossip – 37.55%
• Ability to be near children during the daytime – 25.49%

When asked what advanced technologies Americans expect from telecommuting solutions, 45% said remote control of their computer desktops at work followed by:

• Mobile access to my files both at work and at home – 43.48%
• Ability to participate in office meetings as if you were in the same room – 40.32%
• Ability to print remotely – 39.92%
• Ability to work on a document through screen-sharing – 37.55%
• Face to face video communication with colleagues and clients – 37.15%

“With an increasing number of employees requesting flexibility in the workplace, telecommuting has become inevitable,” said Holger Felgner, General Manager at TeamViewer. “TeamViewer provides a solution allowing employees to work from home without limiting their access to materials and tools they may not have otherwise.”

Have a look at our infographic (click on image to enlarge) to see other highlights from the survey:

Learn more about how TeamViewer can help improve your business with remote support and online meetings, or simply download your free trial now.

Trends such as “BYOD” (Bring Your Own Device) have made vulnerability assessments a mission-critical component to maintaining a secure network. As administrators attempt to regulate the massive influx of outside hardware being brought into the workplace and connected to the corporate network, including mobile devices and laptops running different operating systems, such as Windows® and Mac OS X, making sure these devices do not introduce extra vulnerabilities into the network infrastructure has reached a critical level.

In 2012, GFI Labs found that hackers were moving from exploiting vulnerabilities in operating systems to exploiting third-party applications, such as Java® and Adobe®. GFI’s research shows that 75 percent of attacks now target vulnerabilities within these applications, making patch management absolutely critical for a layered security approach.

GFI LanGuard combines vulnerability scanning, patch management, and network and software auditing into one solution that enables IT professionals to scan, detect, assess and correct potential security risks on their networks with minimal administrative effort. GFI LanGuard also enables administrators to manage 100 percent of their patching needs on more than 2,500 machines from a single console; inventory devices attached to their networks; receive change alerts, such as notification when a new application is installed; ensure antivirus applications are current and enabled; and strengthen compliance with industry regulations through automated patch management that defends against potential network vulnerabilities. GFI LanGuard performs more than 50,000 checks against operating systems, applications, and devices, integrating with more than 2,500 security applications.

Learn more about GFI LanGuard 2012 or start your 30-day trial today!

Online shopping is great, but if you’re not careful, you could be the recipient of a lot more than you bargained for. Today is a feast day for hackers as they step up their efforts to trick and defraud online shoppers.

You may encounter legitimate websites that have been compromised and are delivering malware. Hackers have been doing a lot of background work to poison search engine results (a method known as SEO poisoning) for keywords such as “Cyber Monday Sales”, “Coupons”, and other attractive terms people search for related to the day. In these instances, cybercriminals are trying to get you and others to click on one of the top links in Google and other search engines and redirect you to a website that is hosting malware.

Phishing attacks aimed at mobile platforms, compromised websites serving up drive-by downloads, and shady campaigns on popular social networking sites (such as Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook), will all be things you should be mindful of when shopping online. Tactics are not limited to one platform alone, so you can be at risk even when using your phone or tablet. No platform is safe or malware-proof.

Here are some security tips to consider while shopping online today:

1. Secure your PC, network and devices

Be sure the computer you use has, at a minimum, a firewall, up-to-date antivirus software and the latest version of whichever web browser you are running. At home, ensure your wireless network is password-protected. If you must shop online in a public place, avoid using an unsecured Wi-Fi connection. If you have a smartphone, download an antivirus and antimalware app for it.

2. Use strong passwords

A strong, alphanumeric password with at least eight characters is an easy way to help defend your personal information online. It is also recommended that you use different user names and passwords for each online account you have.

3. Shop on trusted, secure websites

Before entering your personal financial information to make a transaction, always make sure that you are using a site that provides encryption for the credit card transaction. Look for the closed padlock on the browser’s address bar or at the bottom of the screen. Also check the browser’s address bar to confirm that the URL begins with “https”, signifying a secure site that provides encrypted communication. When using your smartphone, pay attention to what information a site or app is requesting.

4. Protect personal information

Most online shopping will require disclosing information to process a transaction. It is normal to provide contact information like an address and phone number, and, when prompted, your credit card number. However, be wary of any request for additional information, especially if it is received by email claiming to confirm a purchase or asking for additional information. Always contact the merchant directly if you have any doubt about requests for personal information you receive. When using your smartphone, pay attention to what information a site or app is requesting.

5. Be careful what you click

While searching online for deals and product reviews, be careful about clicking on hyperlinks you run across in search engine results and holiday e-cards, as well as on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, even if it appears that your friends are suggesting a link for you. Always verify the URL address—especially shortened URLs—of any link you run across to ensure it will direct you to a safe, reputable website. One wrong click can lead to malware that could end your holiday shopping season early.

6. Is your software up-to-date?

Cybercriminals have shifted their attack from Windows to third-party applications like Java or Adobe. Out-of-date (unpatched) versions of these programs have vulnerabilities that are found with exploit kits to get malware running. The shift has been so dramatic that over 75% of infections today use this attack vector. This problem of out-of-date software is so widespread, over 50% of all Windows-based computers are wide-open to this type of attack. Check your software products regularly and run updates regularly, especially third-party products. You can also automate the process using VIPRE Internet Security 2013, the first AV product to have integrated patch management.

Have a great Cyber Monday but please be careful and think twice before visiting sites that look risky or you have never seen before. Better safe than sorry.

Don’t miss your chance to save up to 75% on VIPRE antivirus software for home PCs. Prices as low as $9.99!