MailGuard Blog

A computer virus that seeks out and destroys antivirus software; that’s AVCrypt, a new ransomware variant discovered on Friday.

The AVCrypt malware is designed to locate and delete PC antivirus software Windows Defender and Malwarebytes and then install ransomware onto an infected computer. By eliminating the computer’s antivirus programs before beginning the ransomware attack, AVCrypt effectively removes the local security protection that most PCs rely on to prevent such attacks, making this a very dangerous new malware strain.

Too many businesses put their trust in a single layer of protection when employing a threat mitigation strategy.  If malware manages to slip past that single thin layer, a company’s IT infrastructure is virtually defenseless, along with their most sensitive business data.

MailGuard have identified and successfully blocked another zero day malware scam purporting to be from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). 

In Part 2 of this blog series, we touched on the topics of malware variants and what level of support is needed from your email security provider to keep zero-day spam and phishing scams at bay. For the third installment, we explored why the current cyber threat environment necessitates a multi-layered security alert system – the only true antivirus solution.

The Internet isn’t a safe place, and it isn’t getting any safer.

As discussed in Part 1 of this four-part series on partnering with the best cloud email security provider, you must ask the right questions to determine if your provider offers premium services or if it is still leaving your business susceptible to spam and malware attacks.

The total damage done to the world economy by virus writers, hackers and spammers exceeds $500 billion annually. This terrifying figure continues to increase with a yearly growth rate of 30 to 40 percent (coinciding with the continual surge of malicious programs). 

Cybercriminals are growing increasingly sophisticated in their advances to infiltrate your network’s security defences and gain access to critical business data. 

MailGuard have identified and successfully blocked a malware scam email purporting to be from the Australian Taxation Office. 

Any business with a dedicated IT department has some kind of computer or network protection in place, starting with their on-premise protection such as desktop or gateway anti-virus.