The best protection against malware

Our private lives represent, now more than ever, the ideal vulnerable point to be exploited in order to gain access to vast corporate networks laden with valuable data. In this article we will explain how FlashStart represents the best malware protection for your devices, both on the corporate and home levels.

1. The ultimate goal of hackers: our private lives

In an article in Forbes on December 12, 2022, Amir Tarighat, a cybersecurity expert, sounds the alarm about the industry’s latest frontier. He called it “Employee-Targeted Digital Risk,” meaning digital risk that targets employees. With this risk, the ultimate target is always the companies, those for which employees work, but both the mode of attack and the type of company targeted change.

What Tarighat points out is that the evidence shows that hackers are spending more and more time studying the employees of target companies with the goal of compiling a list of who might be the most vulnerable employees, who could easily fall into the trap of a well-prepared, targeted attack.

1.1 How does one spot a vulnerable employee?

The attack can happen in one of two opposing ways:

» In the first case, hackers select a company that, for different reasons, turns out to be a good target, and they decide to attack it. The question of the entry point then arises, that is, the point from which to infiltrate the corporate system in order to launch the attack, and it is here that the attacker begins to study employees, their profiles on social platforms, and the information sown online that can be used in ways and for purposes totally different from those for which they were put online. Once the employee or employees who seem most vulnerable are identified, a targeted attack is prepared, which in many cases has, unfortunately, the desired effect.

» The second case is more opportunistic. Hackers find personal data online – these include information about personal interests, questions aimed at the web, family anecdotes that indicate the presence of children or pets, photos that show contacts and relationships with foreign residents, and much more – knowingly exposed by employees who are unaware of the many uses that can be made of this data. Hackers then decide to seize the opportunity, study the victim a little further and figure out “what it’s worth”, that is, how much they can gain from a targeted attack on that person. And if the result is worth the effort, why not?

In both cases, hackers take advantage of information that we ourselves often make public online, carelessly or unaware of the dangers of the web. This is why it is necessary to equip the corporate network, and even the home network, with the best malware protection.

>> FlashStart protects you from a vast array of threats and blocks access to malicious sites ? Request a quotation or try it now

2. Malware blocking: why it is important to block malware

Malware blocking, that is, the set of actions and systems aimed at blocking malware, is important and downright strategic for the following reasons:

» Hackers develop attacks and techniques that are increasingly complex and have the potential to have the effects of completely shutting down – sometimes for a limited period, others permanently – the activities of companies and organizations and their work and personal devices.

>> Guaranteeing the best malware protection is essential for ensuring the longevity of businesses, organizations, and the devices that we use.

» A new urgency arises from the fact that, from the beginning of the pandemic to the present, the average time each of us spends in front of screens connected to the internet or that have the potential to connect to the net has increased dramatically. This phenomenon has gone hand in hand with an increase in the number of attacks launched by hackers, aimed at seizing the increased opportunities presented by an increasingly connected life.

>> Guaranteeing the best malware protection is necessary in order to peacefully live an increasingly connected life

» Finally, a broader consideration should also be given to those contents that, although they are not actually malware, still have potentially undesirable effects on specific groups of users. In this case, we refer to porn, violence, bullying, and online gaming, to name just a few. Sites and platforms dedicated to these activities can have negative effects on the psychological and interpersonal development of younger internet users, as well as sometimes being a basis for phishing attempts and other types of attacks.

>> Guaranteeing the best malware protection allows for a better web experience for all kinds of users.

>> FlashStart is the DNS filter tool against malware and unwanted contents ? Request a quotation or try it now

3. What features should the best malware protection possess?

Given the wide range of solutions offered online and by retailers, choosing the best malware protection is not easy. There are a few fundamental points, however, which should always be considered. In particular, a malware blocking tool must:

» act at the DNS level; we are talking in this case about anti-malware DNS;
» be constantly updated,
» be available anytime, anywhere,
» inform us, so that we understand our level of risk and how we can improve it.

>> FlashStart provides the best malware protection and satisfies all of the aforementioned points ? Request a quotation or try it now

3.1 FlashStart: one of the world’s fastest anti-malware DNSs

FlashStart works at the DNS level, thereby at the basis of whether or not a given domain should be resolved. Whenever the user types the name of the site he or she wants to reach on the address bar, the search engine, via the DNS protocol, transforms that name into numbers, thus, into characters understandable by the computer. That is why we say it “resolves” the domain.

FlashStart acts as a checkpoint at this stage: it verifies whether the desired site is trustworthy or not and, depending upon the results of the verification, either allows the domain to be resolved or blocks it by displaying a warning message to the user.

Anti-malware DNS software is considered the best in terms of cyber security because domains represent more stable elements than urls: while domains require a substantial investment in order to be changed, urls can be changed in a few clicks. Domain-level internet security, therefore, provides more stability and consistency.

3.2 FlashStart: constantly updated protection from malware

As mentioned above, FlashStart acts as a checkpoint between the user’s desires and the internet. Control is via the cloud: FlashStart’s cloud includes thousands of sites divided into more than eighty-five categories. While some categories are automatically blocked by the DNS anti-malware tool, specifically malware and dangerous contents, for others it is up to the network administrator to decide whether to block them or not.

FlashStart’s cloud is constantly updated: artificial intelligence algorithms constantly scan the web for new threats. FlashStart’s artificial intelligence can scan 200 thousand sites every day and supports twenty-four different languages. Moreover, thanks to machine learning mechanisms which imitate the ways in which the human mind thinks, the tool learns from past experience and becomes increasingly capable of analysis.

>> FlashStart: malware protection entirely in the cloud and easily activated ? Request a quotation or try it now

3.3 FlashStart: DNS anti-malware software available everywhere

FlashStart guarantees the protection of devices wherever they might be. In fact, it may be installed:

» At the router level: installing FlashStart at the corporate or home router level implies that all devices connected to that network are automatically covered by FlashStart protection. This way, the network administrator may rest assured that any new devices, even those belonging to third parties, such as suppliers or customers who need to connect to the corporate network, are automatically covered and protected.

» At the end-point level: an increasingly fluid labor market and the increase in remote work have advantages and disadvantages of various kinds. If, on the one hand, this makes it possible to work even in situations, such as the pandemic, where it would otherwise not be possible or it allows collaboration with more knowledgeable resources wherever they may be, it also involves connections from less protected locations on the corporate network. For this reason, FlashStart has developed ClientShield, end-point protection which allows malware blocking on any device, anywhere.

>> FlashStart: rapid malware blocking, always and everywhere ? Request a quotation or try it now

3.4 FlashStart: protection, prevention, information

FlashStart is not only concerned with the protection of our browsing. An important part of its work is to provide prevention through information. FlashStart constantly analyzes the threats to which we are exposed and organizes this information into a series of reports on network use.

About twenty reports are available in standard mode, covering internet traffic for the past six months. These reports show blocked or allowed contents according to: content category, time slot, country of origin of the content. Specific analysis reports on blocked threats and malware then allow the user to understand his/her risk profile, with the aim of improving his/her browsing practices in order to have a more peaceful internet experience.

>> Are you an appliance manufacturer? It is possible to natively integrate FlashStart ? Request a quotation or try it now

You can activate the FlashStart® Cloud protection on any sort of Router and Firewall to secure desktop and mobile devices and IoT devices on local networks.