Keeping computer systems free of malware is one of the most important jobs of any IT administrator. Maintaining the health of your IT infrastructure is essential to business functions, and new threats are created every day. IT admins need to be prepared for the possibility of intrusion so that their companies can thrive.
With the cost of a data breach sitting at $3.8 million according to a 2015 IBM study, infiltration can be hard to bounce back from. Admins should use every tool available to them to help prevent infection and maintain system health. Here are four essential software solutions that IT admins should consider:
1. Anti-virus
Malware is everywhere and new strains are being created every day. Therefore, it’s crucial for IT admins to invest in an anti-virus solution that protects their systems from malicious attacks that could compromise their data and impede business functions. Tommy Charles of Demand Media reported that anti-virus can close potential security leaks and provide the real-time protection necessary for scanning each program as it comes into contact with computer systems.
It helps to be prepared with layered security you can count on. Anti-Virus from Faronics combines the capabilities of anti-malware, anti-spyware and anti-virus software into one strong endpoint security solution.
2. Application whitelisting
This refers to a computer administration capability that keeps unauthorized or potentially malicious programs from running on your systems. According to TechTarget, the user or admin selects a list of programs that are allowed to run on the computer, and if an unauthorized program that isn’t on the list tries to boot up, the whitelisting tool doesn’t allow it to start. The alternative to whitelisting is a process called blacklisting, which creates a list of malicious programs instead. This is essentially how anti-virus software works.
Whether or not application whitelisting tools are preferable to anti-virus software depends on how admins want to holistically think about their cybersecurity strategies. While whitelisting involves prevention and blacklisting relies on detection, they both are essential tools for protecting systems.
3. Power management
It takes a lot of power to run an IT network, and it is becoming increasingly important for companies to understand how their energy usage impacts both their electricity bills and the environment itself. For instance, the Natural Resource Defense Council found that in 2013, U.S. data centers consumed around 91 billion kilowatt-hours of energy – and they’re projected to use 140 billion kilowatt-hours by 2020. The computer network of an enterprise will use nowhere near this amount of electricity, but it’s still crucial to keep energy costs down and contribute to a healthier environment in the long run.
This is where power management software comes into play. Tools like Faronics Power Save allow companies to eliminate up to 50 percent of computer energy waste without impacting IT productivity. Businesses can save on energy bills and reduce carbon footprint with this kind of software.
4. Reboot to restore
A reboot to restore solution takes a snapshot of current computer settings and stores it in case of infection. Programs like Deep Freeze from Faronics allow admins to restore configurations to what they were at the time of that snapshot. In this way, the system is cleared of the malicious programs and normal function can resume. Deep Freeze can be deployed on enterprise networks or in the cloud – wherever your company needs it and on any system.
All of these software tools are essential for keeping computer systems secure and environments functioning at the optimum level. Contact Faronics today to see how our intelligent solutions can help IT admins from any industry maintain the health of their networks.