At the beginning of the month a malicious e-mail containing a brief news update on the Katrina hurricane was being sent to computer users. Users were urged to read the rest of the bulletin and by clicking on "read more" they would be taken to the full update on a website. However, by accessing this website the user would have their computer infected with a virus.

To add insult to injury, not only were hackers exploiting the hurricane tragedy to infect computers and have total access to and control of their files, but also fraudulent e-mails pretending to raise money for the Katrina victims were being spammed out.

It is not the first time that hackers have tried to exploit other people's misery. Last year, after the Tsunami tragedy, similar bogus e-mails were sent out. Users are urged always to double-check the legitimacy of any charity which asks for money via e-mail, not only for the Katrina hurricane, but for any other reason, since we never know when hackers will attack.

It is imperative that users delete these e-mails as soon as they receive them and do not open any attached file. However, to completely eliminate receiving these emails in the first place.

How Could they have Protected Themselves?

The answer lies with ArmourPlate. Since viruses are usually more prevalent and more damaging to networks than hackers and crackers are, e-mail users should be instructed to be exceedingly careful about the attachments they open, especially those from unknown sources. While this will help with the vast majority of e-mail-borne malicious code, organisations can eliminate the risk of opening infected files completely by ensuring that they have antivirus protection such as ArmourPlate in place.

ArmourPlate stops viruses dead before they even get a chance to reach organization's networks, by using three respected anti-virus software suites and its own proprietary technology that detects and stops new viruses that have not yet been discovered.

In short, ArmourPlate would work alongside your existing systems to safeguard your company's internal network, preventing it from malicious virus and email attacks and clogging with spam, which causes costly downtime. By both in-bound and out-bound scanning, your professional reputation with your staff, clients, partners and peers is protected. ArmourPlate is brought to you with outstanding recommendations and eliminates the need for organizations to worry, creating complete peace of mind.

Source: BBC

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