As 2010 draws to a close, I have been looking back over the service that Homeland Secure IT has performed and talking with other computer service techs about the work that has come through our doors and not at all surprising is the fact that malware / virus removal & cleanup was one of the most common types of issues tackled.
Not at all an exhaustive study in this, but here’s what the typical notebook and laptop (end user) PC repair and maintenance looks like:
A full 20% of our end user (business and home computer and notebook) service has comprised of something related to malware, viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, rootkits, etc… Whether it was cleaning a machine which was infected, or installing anti-virus to help protect it, a lot of time (and client money!) was invested into this area.
The only other area of computer service that came close was the setup and deployment of new desktop workstations, notebooks, laptops, etc.
What does that tell us? It tells us too many people are running inadequate anti-virus and anti-malware, on unpatched computers.
We can’t remember any of these infections occuring on Microsoft Windows 7 machines, and not a single client with Windows 7 running Trend Micro Worry Free Business Security or Titanium! The majority of them were running Windows XP.
I guess that means if everyone with XP would switch over to a Windows 7 based machine with Trend Micro Anti-Virus, we would lose some revenue, but I think we can live with that! One thing is for sure: Mac and Linux owners better start keeping their systems up to date and get some anti-virus loaded, as they have already overtaken the latest versions of Windows as far as the rate of infections are going!
If you feel your computer may be compromised (signs are strange behaviors, unexpected windows opening, getting a strange website instead of a familiar one, machine running slower than normal, blue screens, lockups, reboots, etc), please give us a call at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com. We provide complete computer repair, service and support in the Greenville / Upstate SC area.