900 Thursday March 18, 2010 TODAY 901 Thursday March 18, 2010 TODAY

Brought to you by
it tops among its anti-viral software nancial vulnerabililty as “90 per cent
contemporaries. of all malware threats are financially
Powered by motivated”.
• Game on • To be safe, invest in an anti-spam
Gamers playing networked games are filter. Most anti-virus security suites
susceptible to identity theft. are bundled with anti-spam filters.
Are you a statistic?

Are
In addition to the usual malware It’s imperative to keep your virus
attacks, hackers might exploit the definitions updated. Users who get

500w %
gamer’s social mechanism (such as annoyed with constant reminders to

10,000
instant messaging and email) to gather update their anti-virus programs can

you at
information on their game profiles. It opt for an application that is always on
can then be used to create in-game and automatically updates itself, such and unplugging from the Internet is much
That’s ho
new malw
accounts in the gamer’s name or ac- as SingNet Security Suite. not an option in today’s world.
malware has are threats

risk?
cess their existing credit card informa-
tion if they pay their subscriptions to
game sites online.
Even if you choose only reputable
game companies, attackers can still
trick you into submitting information to
Study these tips to protect yourself
a website that appears legitimate.
Mr Sentonas said: “This is known
from an increasingly dangerous as phishing, in which a fake website is
designed to look legitimate to gather
virtual world where malware, spam information about the user. Make sure
and virtual fraud is rampant that your anti-virus program is able to
review a website’s safety.”
• The guardian •
Parents constantly worry about the
safety of their children, as the cyber-
space-savvy youth are largely igno-
rant of its dangers. The statistics are
appalling — 42 per cent of youth are
exposed to undesirable content; 42.4
per cent of children who are cyberbul-
lied tend to also be bullied at school.
And the worst: 79 per cent of exposure
to pornography occurs in the home.
But throwing out the computer
are created daily
gone up by in the
Mr Sentonas said: “We need a
two-pronged approach. First, cultivate
.
smart behaviour in our children, such last two years.
as not to reveal personal information
to strangers and, second, to use Inter-
net filtering technology. of computer users have
The Internet need not be scary; all
it takes is prudence and some common 22% updated anti-virus and
anti-spyware software.
sense to make cyberspace a safe des-
tination for the young and the old.
>> Learn how to protect your kids
in the next feature on March 25. SingNet Security Suite by McAfee

IF YOU’VE clicked on this mes-
sage, “Try it, ...really works!!
http://bit.ly/oVF1q”, in your
Facebook inbox, you might
have invited malware into your
computer.
Malware are computer vi-
ruses that commonly appear
in one of three forms: Trojan
horses, which opens your
computer to unauthorised ac-
222,000 known computer viruses
now. And it’s estimated that there
are 10,000 new malware threats
daily, with more than 1.5 million
unique malware detections.”
Most users can’t deal with
the onslaught. The 2007 McAfee-
National Cyber Security Alliance
Online Safety Study reported
that “98 per cent (of consum-
ers) felt up-to-date security is
‘‘
less you want to lose all your data. • Residential business • Anti-Virus Anti-Spam
The home entrepreneur shares docu- Blocks, cleans and Blocks junk emails.
• The average Joe • ments, conducts online meetings and removes viruses and
Most people log on to shop, socialise makes financial transactions at home. other malware.
and watch videos, which leaves their
computers open to hidden malware in
98% FELT UP-TO- Otherwise, he shares a similar pro-
file with the average Joe. He worries Anti-Spyware
unsecured websites. DATE SECURITY IS about losing his data and spam leading
Parental Controls
Controls child access
Detects, blocks and
According to Mr Sentonas, nearly to loss in man-hours and data, and removes spyware,
five per cent of all websites are mali- IMPORTANT. bUT identity theft.
and content. adware and tracking
cookies for privacy
cious in nature. A robust firewall and
anti-virus program, such as SingNet
ONLY 22% HAVE UP- Ferris Research, an online and fi-
nance research company, has estimat- Firewall protection.

cess; worms, which multiplies
through computer networks; or
email viruses.
Mr Michael Sentonas of
McAfee, chief technology offi-
cer, Asia Pacific said: “There are
important. But only 22 per cent
have updated anti-virus and
anti-spyware software”.
So don’t hit “dismiss” when
prompted to update or renew
your anti-virus software — un-
Security Suite, can easily provide DATED ANTI-VIRUS ed that “spam will cost (businesses) a Block hackers.
you the virtual protection you need. It total of US$130 billion (S$182.5 billion)
uses McAfee Internet Security 2010, AND ANTI-SPYWARE worldwide” and, not surprisingly, 92 Website Safety
Anti-Phishing
Identifies websites
which achieved 99.9 per cent detec-
tion rate in a malware detection test
SOFTWARE. per cent of all email is spam.
Spam propagates malware and
Ratings
Rates websites for
designed to steal
your personal
conducted by AV-Test.org, ranking phishing scams that exploit your fi- safe surfing. information.