ResNet - Virus Information
Like you, computers are susceptible to "infections". While you might feel sick, or run down for a few days, computer viruses can put your computer out of commission indefinitely. With this age of cyber terrorism and identity theft, it is extremely important that you:
- Keep informed, usually local news and internet news sites will have stories on virus attacks and information.
- Keep you computer's operating system and anti virus protection up to date. More information on keeping your computer up to date can be found on the Update Information Page.
The following is information to help you better understand different computer viruses and the current virus threats affecting the ResNet.
What is a Virus?
A virus is a manmade program or piece of code that causes an unexpected, usually negative, event. Viruses are often disguised games or images with clever marketing titles such as "Me, nude."
Computer Alerted to a Bug Friendly Computer Worm
What is a Worm?
Computer Worms are viruses that reside in the active memory of a computer and duplicate themselves. They may send copies of themselves to other computers, such as through email or Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
What is a Trojan Horse?
A Trojan horse program is a malicious program that pretends to be a benign application; a Trojan horse program purposefully does something the user does not expect. Trojans are not viruses since they do not replicate, but Trojan horse programs can be just as destructive.
Many people use the term to refer only to non-replicating malicious programs, thus making a distinction between Trojans and viruses.
How do I protect myself?
The University requires that all users of the University Network (ResNet included) have Anti-virus software that is updated with a current subscription. If you do not have, or are unable to afford current software, the University can provide it free of charge.
The University also recommends the use of personal firewall software. As a user, your computer can be seen by anyone on the network. Firewalls can prevent others from accessing your computer and helps protect against various network viruses. Windows XP users can take advantage of built in firewall software.
While we do not recommend a particular software program, as a student you can save money by purchasing educational versions either through the University Bookstore, or online.
NOTE: Due to University Internet security, we cannot guarantee that all software will work with the ResNet
