Cyber crime is increasingly becoming a global threat and much more a
headache to the smaller businesses and start ups for whom investing in
expensive cyber security tool can add up their overall expenses.
When security researchers were interviewed to recommend the best security tool that can be used as prevention against the Cybercrime and also protect their brands, the researchers said that it is difficult for them to pin point at any one tool to be the most secured when it comes to cyber security.
Ron Woerner, director of CyberSecurity Studies at Bellevue University said: “There is no ‘one and best’ security tool. It really depends on the situation, circumstance, and personal preference. There are certain things all network, IT, and security professionals should have in their tool bag. The most important is knowledge; i.e., where to learn more about a particular topic, technique, or tool. It’s impossible to know everything; so focus on where to get quality instruction and information.”
Thus in this article we have given Top 6 Security tools which small businesses and start up firms can take benefit of, as per their needs for protecting their essential business data against Cybercrime.
VirusTotal is a subsidiary of Google and it has a vast data reserve of the various malicious content that has been already detected by multiple virus engines along with the URL analysis tools and website scanners. VirusTotal also provides various methods for file uploads, scan the websites and also has free public Application Programming Interface (API) that would help the user with automated connectivity to the service.
Users needs to remember that this security tool can be used as an additional security and should not be used as a replacement to the existing security product like the anti virus software, the service also warns users that this software should not be used for any commercial or malicious purposes.
When security researchers were interviewed to recommend the best security tool that can be used as prevention against the Cybercrime and also protect their brands, the researchers said that it is difficult for them to pin point at any one tool to be the most secured when it comes to cyber security.
Ron Woerner, director of CyberSecurity Studies at Bellevue University said: “There is no ‘one and best’ security tool. It really depends on the situation, circumstance, and personal preference. There are certain things all network, IT, and security professionals should have in their tool bag. The most important is knowledge; i.e., where to learn more about a particular topic, technique, or tool. It’s impossible to know everything; so focus on where to get quality instruction and information.”
Thus in this article we have given Top 6 Security tools which small businesses and start up firms can take benefit of, as per their needs for protecting their essential business data against Cybercrime.
VirusTotal (free online service to analyze and detect all kinds of malware on the web) :
VirusTotal, this is a free online tool that can scan files and URLs for all kinds of malwares such as viruses, worms, trojans that might be hidden in the small business website or any personal website. Usually, the cyber crooks such as hackers or attackers try to find and exploit the most accessible and unpatched websites that are exposed on the internet and then they attack the website with malware.VirusTotal is a subsidiary of Google and it has a vast data reserve of the various malicious content that has been already detected by multiple virus engines along with the URL analysis tools and website scanners. VirusTotal also provides various methods for file uploads, scan the websites and also has free public Application Programming Interface (API) that would help the user with automated connectivity to the service.
Users needs to remember that this security tool can be used as an additional security and should not be used as a replacement to the existing security product like the anti virus software, the service also warns users that this software should not be used for any commercial or malicious purposes.
Users can get the free VirusTotal tool by clicking this link.
Tripwire SecureScan (Scans the internal vulnerability):
A
free security tool and can be easily set up in a matter of few minutes.
The most essential requirement here would be set up a computer on the
internal network that is used to scan other systems on the network.
SecureScan
basically scans up to 100 endpoints on the internal network with the
aim of finding vulnerabilities on the internal network and then it also
provides the required guidance in case if finds any issues during the
scan. User can schedule the scans as per their needs and it can be
weekly or monthly.
Users can get the free Tripwire SecureScan tool by clicking this link.
Secunia PSI (Personal Software Inspector)
The
Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI) is a free security scanner,
it basically identifies the programs that are insecure and needs update.
Further up dation of a majority of the programs is automated in this
tool due to which it becomes a lot easier to maintain the security of
the computer.
Detecting any insecure
programs and downloading the required patches as well as re installation
of these programs is all done automatically due to which it reduces any
user interaction. On the other hand, suppose the security tool detects
some fault in the program; however if it cannot automatically update
the patches, then it provides user with detailed instructions for
updating the program when available. In such cases, users would just
need to click the appropriate icon in the ‘Results window’ and follow
the on-screen instructions to install the latest patches.
This
security tool is not available for free of cost in case of smaller
businesses. However, the smaller businesses can explore Corporate
Software Inspector (CSI) which can be used for vulnerability scanning
and patch management.
Users can get the free Secunia PSI tool by clicking this link.
Microsoft Security Compliance Manager (Securing the system configuration):
Security
Compliance Manager (3.0) is a free tool from Microsoft Solution
Accelerator team. This tool helps to configure Windows workstation,
server and Cloud systems. In all, it is a sort of centralized security.
It is easy to use and a little bit of technical knowledge can give more
benefit to the users.
The tool includes
some of the ready to deploy baselines or policies which are based
on Microsoft Security guide recommendations as well as the best industry
practices. Once the tool has been set up it can be used to supervise
any kind of alternations done to the baseline and also help the user to
address any compliance requirements and security threats.
For
users who want to try out the advanced tools they can import and export
the settings that can be used for enterprise tools such as System
Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) and Group Policy Object (GPO)
deployments. In short, users can take advantage of Microsoft security
professionals by using the SCM tool which will reduce their time as well
as money that is required to maintain the security of their essential
data from the cyber crooks.
So if an
organization is in need of centralized IT environment that is not only
secured but also reliable and provide proper functionality then SCM
would be the best answer.Users can get the free Microsoft Security
Compliance Manager tool by clicking this link.
Qualys SSL Server Test (Analyse configuration of SSL web server):
SSL
security threats are increasing day by day and hence it is essential
for the start up firms and small businesses to ensure the SSL
certificates and server configurations of their website is updated and
secured. The free security tool SSL Server Test has been designed by
Qualys.
Businesses can use this tool to
scan their business website and detect any SSL vulnerabilities such
as weak authentication, insecure protocols, outdated certificates and
weak cipher sites. Basically, this free online tool conducts an in depth
analysis of the configuration of any SSL web server on the public
internet. Users can get the free Qualys SSL Server Test tool by clicking
this link.
Splunk Light (Log searches and analysis):
Splunk
Light is a comprehensive solution for smaller IT environments and it
has been designed for log search and analysis. The product can be used
for free of cost up to 500 MB per day. The tool has been designed such
that it can gather real time log data from the company’s distributed
systems in one place so as to enable powerful search queries, dynamic
alerts and reporting dash board for real time analysis, thus enabling
speedy and skillful troubleshooting attributes to this tool.
Splunk
can also be upgraded to Splunk Enterprise which is designed specially
for larger enterprises with higher volumes of log data. Users can get
the free Splunk Light tool by clicking this link.
The
above given tools have been provided as an additional security to the
already existing security system like antivirus or end-point protection
that smaller businesses and start-up companies are using at present. Let
us know, if there are any other security tools which readers feel needs
to be added in this list. Please feel free to give your opinions in the
comments section.
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