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Viruses and Trojans are by far the biggest security risk next to leaving unencrypted data in an unsecure location. Read up on the virus SQLSlammer.A. Even though, it is “checked” for and blocked by the major virus scanners, they cannot physically stop the attack from the virus unless you have downloaded the MS-039 exploit patch. This virus exploited a hole in the Microsoft Office application. Most notable was the virus exploited MS Excel and MS Word to give the attacker FULL control of your system. Most virus scanners will portray a message that says “There was an error detected in MS-039 but this was blocked”, but it is serious enough to want that patch; regardless of what the virus scanner claims to have done. It is memory resident only and is propagated through the virus “packets” floating through the internet. This means you do not even have to download anything, only reside on the infected network.

Other serious viruses that were pushed out in the recent future was the PE_FunLove, or MyDoom in particular. These viruses were very destructive. They have caused billions of dollars in lost information to unsuspecting companies but go to show that they must keep up with up to date patches.

Trojans are more chances than not keyloggers or physical backdoors which can cripple systems, hijack vital information, or turn your network into a spam bot. Also, it can turn your network into a launching pad for network attacks. It is very crucial that internet access is restricted in the workplace because viewing certain websites can cause indirect or direct harm to your systems. This is why, however, that all companies must insure that data is encrypted, backed up and stored elsewhere, virus scans are run daily with current definitions, and keep track on who is viewing which website. That is, of course, saying that the website is restricted to begin with.