It’s easy to let headlines about malware wash over your head. And we don’t blame you. After all, malware is often reported in such a general way that it doesn’t appear to be as much of a threat as it is. When people think in generalities, they can avoid the particulars that are cause for alarm.

When it comes to cybercrime, it’s especially important to not be general. That’s because individuals and businesses aren’t attacked by one broad, all-encompassing thing called malware. Instead, they’re targeted by specific strains of viruses that have been individually tailored to carry out criminal work. To take a look at even a few of the specific malware strains out there is to understand just how vast the cybercriminal realm truly is — and how important it is to guard against it with encryption software.

In the spirit of promoting awareness about the diverse range of malware that threatens your business system, we’re highlighting a few threats from this very extensive list. When reading about these, note that this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as specific strains go. We advise you to plan and defend your business accordingly.

Name: RDN/PWS-Banker!dn!369​E959DB82C
Type of Malware: Password stealer
Description: This password thief tries to worm its way onto individual and business systems by posing as seemingly benign emails or masquerading as an otherwise innocent Web page. Once it’s on your system, it attempts to extract information from you by writing “to a memory location of a previously loaded process.”

Name: W32/Sdbot.worm!07A3BC​38B286
Type of Malware: Virus
Description: Just like a virus in the physical world — the common cold or flu, for example — computer viruses have the ability to self-replicate and, therefore, wreak more havoc on more victims. This particular virus is the kind of worm that will try to get in the back door of your enterprise while you’re looking the other way. Unfortunately, since so many businesses out there do look the other way — by not having sufficient endpoint protection — the potential for success of this virus is pretty high.

Name: RDN/YahLover.worm!bd!​E577A350425C
Type of Malware: Worm
Description: The YahLover worm has been making the rounds for years. According to a description of the worm from back in March 2013, it is “a self-propagating program that can spread via Yahoo IM and send a message with a link which downloads itself to all the contacts of yahoo IM.” This kind of spread is typical for a worm. By disguising itself as a legitimate person, it can infect other people who believe they’re receiving a correspondence from a friend.

Preventing The Tide Of Malware

Sure, it’s possible to rid your systems of malware when it’s already present. But wouldn’t you prefer just never having to deal with malicious strains in the first place? As organizations with endpoint protection can tell you, business is simply better. It takes a significant burden off IT departments and allows company employees to guide their attention toward the betterment of the business instead of always having to be examining the computer system. In this way, it’s a great investment.

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