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Introduction

Malware or malicious software is coded with the sole purpose of causing harm to a system or network. The big problem with malware is the fact that it is continuously evolved to be detrimental to a protected system to allow the attacker access to sensitive information. Another issue with malware is the degree of sophistication that it has reached and keeps reaching. Malware can be present on a system or computer without being spotted for long periods of time and can disguise itself as safe software.

Since malware is continuously developed to sidestep precautionary measures, which makes them incredibly difficult to deal with. Many companies spend a lot of resources on protecting themselves from malware and the adverse effect it has on their systems. Let’s take a look at the types of malware and prevention.

Types of Malware

Viruses

A computer virus is a code that spreads from files or emails. This malicious code copies itself and can do incredible damage to your device.

Adware

Adware is the annoying pop-up ads you sometimes see when you are online. These ads are not as detrimental as some other malware you find. When you click on these pop-ups, however, other types of malware may find their way onto your system.

Worms

Similar to viruses, the worm also spread from files or emails. Worms are self-replicating programmes that can reduce your computer’s performance and occupy a lot of memory. Worms can also spread through networks and can be a big problem, especially in corporate settings.

Trojan Horse

A Trojan horse or “Trojan” is a particularly difficult piece of malware to deal with. A Trojan horse disguises itself as a safe and normal piece of software that is often downloaded by the users themselves. Attackers often use Trojan horses to gain remote access to an infected computer and to gain sensitive information like login details or passcodes for online banking profiles. They can also monitor user activity like watching their screens by means of Trojan Horses.

Rootkit

A rootkit is a form of malware that enables an attacker to access or control a computer remotely. This allows an attacker to steal sensitive information, reconfigure system settings, or control the computer as part of a botnet. The best protection against rootkits involves regular maintenance and patching of system and software vulnerabilities.

Prevention

There are many things that you can do to protect yourself against malware. Many companies and individuals resort to all of the precautionary measures to minimise their risk of being attacked by means of malware.

Install anti-virus and firewall software. There are many different anti-virus products available. To ensure maximum protection, install and run software that offers protection against all types of malware.

Keep software up to date. The best way to do this is to enable automatic updates. These updates contain vulnerability patches that develop as the different types of malware develop.

Don’t open or download files or emails that seem spammy, strange or that doesn’t come from a familiar source.

If you want to know more about firewall, click here.

We are proud to announce that we have just been recognised as a SonicWall SecureFirst Platinum Partner. This is the highest level you can achieve and recognised by years of great service to our customers. We have consistantly offered best advice backed with technical knowledge and continue to help customers find the best solution.

We are backed by SonicWall UK and have been selling, installing, managing and maintaining SonicWall products for over 10 years. Call us if you need advice on any SonicWall product.

Some good things should never end.

One of the most successful promotions in company history, SonicWall's 3 & Free incentive is now a permanent component of our Customer Loyalty program.

In an escalated cyber threat landscape, it's more important than ever to ensure your organizations networks, data and applications are protected against todays most malicious cyberattacks, including the most recent Foreshadow processor exploits. In fact, in July 2018 alone, the average SonicWall customer faced:

• 2,164 malware attacks (28 percent increase from July 2017)
• 81 ransomware attacks (43 percent increase)
• 143 encrypted threats
• 13 phishing attacks each day
• 1,413 new malware variants discovered each day by SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) sandbox with Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection^TM

When you upgrade your SonicWall hardware you gain the latest in next-generation firewall (NGFW) technology and access to the SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) service. It's a cloud-based, multi-engine sandbox that stops both known and unknown cyberattacks from critically impacting your business.

What is the SonicWall 3 & Free Program?

Once a limited-time promotion, the SonicWall 3 & Free is now a mainstay offering to loyal SonicWall customers. It's an easy, cost-effective way for customers to upgrade to the very latest SonicWall next-generation firewall appliance for free.

Eligible customers may receive a complimentary NGFW appliance by purchasing a bundle that includes a three-year subscription of the SonicWall Advanced Gateway Security Suite from their authorized SonicWall SecureFirst partner.

This security suite includes everything you need to stay protected against todays modern attacks, including ransomware, encrypted threats, zero-day attacks and processor-based exploits. It offers:

• Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) sandbox
• Gateway Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware
• Intrusion Prevention Service
• Application Control
• Content Filtering Service
• 24x7 Support

SonicWall's exclusive security subscription service also includes SonicWall Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI). A patent-pending technology, RTDMI enables Capture ATP to detect and block malware that does not exhibit any malicious behaviour or hides weaponry via encryption. This protects your organization from zero-day attacks, malicious PDFs and Microsoft Office files, and even chip-based Spectre, Foreshadow and Meltdown exploits.

Upgrade Your SonicWall Firewall

Ready to upgrade? Take advantage of our 3 & Free program to get the latest in SonicWall next-generation firewall technology for free. BEGIN UPGRADE

The SonicWall NSa 2650 is strongly positioned in the upper right quadrant of the NSS Labs SonicWall Security Value MapTM (SVM) for 2018.

The results of this public test mean that for six straight years, SonicWall has excelled in the industry's most comprehensive real-world testing of next-generation firewalls (NGFWs).

With the 2018 findings, NSS Labs verifies that SonicWall NGFWs:

• Demonstrated as one of the highest-rated and best-value NGFWs in the industry, with a Security Effectiveness score of 98.8% at a very low TCO of $4 per Protected Mbps

• Tested 100% effective in countering all advanced HTTP evasion, obfuscation and fragmentation techniques

• Earned 100% in stability and reliability testing

For further guidance on how to interpret the SonicWall SVM, please refer to the NSS Labs 2018 NGFW SVM Comparative Report.

What are the Key Takeaways from the Report?

1. 6th consecutive year a SonicWall NGFW has received the NSS Lab Rating ‘Recommended’

2. The NSa 2650:

a. achieved a Security Effectiveness score of 98.8%

b. tested 100% effective against all evasions

c. passed 100% of all stability & reliability tests

d. accomplished all of this with a TCO of $4/protected Mbps

3. In today’s challenging environment, where our customers are attacked thousands of times per day, it is imperative that a platform approach is adopted to deliver layers of security throughout the organization. This report confirms that SonicWall NGFWs are the product they can depend on to build out this layered defense strategy.

Next Generation Firewall Test Report

The new SonicWall Network Security Administrator (SNSA) course and certification exam is replacing the CSSA Certification with its Network Security Basic Administration (NSBA) course. For individuals who hold a current CSSA certification, SonicWall will continue to acknowledge this important certification for two years from the certification date. Students wishing to re-certify an expiring CSSA certification will, however, be required to complete the new SNSA course and certification. Learn More

SonicWall Live Demo – new additions
With the recent product launches we’ve made significant updates to the site:

• NSa 6650
• NSa 9650
• Upgrade to SonicOS 6.5.2 of all units
• We will also be adding Capture Security Center shortly

We have now got delivery of the latest NSa models - the 3650, 4650 & 5650.

SonicWall NSa 2650
SonicWall NSa 3650
SonicWall NSa 4650
SonicWall NSa 5650

New NSa models - 3650, 4650 & 5650 have been announced this week and will start arriving into stock by the end of April.

For more information please see the relevant product category.

NSa 3650

NSa 4650

NSa 5650

New upgrade promotion

Take advantage of the '3 & Free' Promotion through to April 30, 2018. Upgrade your Gen 5 SonicWall by buying 3 years of SonicWall Advanced Gateway Security Suite (including Capture ATP) and you will get the SonicWall hardware for Free!

Click here for details

New upgrade promotion

Take advantage of the '3 & Free' Promotion through to April 30, 2018. Upgrade your Gen 5 SonicWall by buying 3 years of SonicWall Advanced Gateway Security Suite (including Capture ATP) and you will get the SonicWall hardware for Free!

Click here for details

Although our office is open between Christmas & New Year, the warehouse is not. Therefore, the last date of despatch this year will be Friday 22nd - around lunchtime.

Office Closed: December 25th/26th & January 1st

Warehouse Closed: December 25th/26th/27th/28th/29th & January 1st.

We should still be able to process subscriptions and renewals though, please ask.

FastVue Reporting for SonicWall

Since releasing Fastvue Reporter for SonicWall in 2016 and seeing it deployed in hundreds of organizations around the globe, we have become very familiar with the effects that various SonicWall configurations and SonicOS firmware versions have on the firewalls logging and reporting.

As a result, we've documented our main SonicWall configuration recommendations to get the best visibility into user web activity and how your network is operating.