If
you should find or suspect that you have a virus,
you should immediately take steps to remove
it. The longer a virus is on your hard drive the
more likely it is to cause damage.
Many
viruses have time sensitive triggers that allow
them to replicate for a period of days or months
before causing damage to your computer. So leaving
a known virus on your computer, even if it seems
harmless, causes unnecessary risk of damage and
data loss. Furthermore Email Script viruses and
other viruses that send email will unnecessarily
degrade the performance of Willamette's network,
and this affects everyone at Willamette.
So
how do I get rid of a virus?
University
Owned Computers | Personally
Owned Computers
University
Owned Computers
All
University owned computers should already be equipped
with self-updating anti-virus software. If you
suspect that you have a virus infection, simply
find the Norton AntiVirus icon in your system
tray (looks like a small yellow shield, located
in the lower-left corner of your screen, near
the clock).
-
Double-click
the icon to open the program.
-
Click
on Scan Computer.
-
Check
the box for Local Disk (C:).
-
Click
Scan.
Your
anti-virus software will scan your entire hard drive.
If it finds a virus, it will first attempt to clean
it. If it can't clean the virus, it will quarantine
it by placing in a "safe area" on your
hard drive where it won't be able to cause further
damage to your system.
If
your software is unable to clean or quarantine a
virus, please call the WITS Help Desk at x6767.
If
you see an error message indicating that your virus
definitions are out of date, please call the WITS
Help Desk at x6767.
If
your computer does not have anti-virus software
installed on it, please call the WITS Help Desk
at x6767. We will submit a Service Request, and
anti-virus software will be installed on your computer
by one of our staff, free of charge.
Personally
Owned Computers
Willamette
University policy requires that all computers on
the campus network (including through a dial-up
connection) have up-to-date anti-virus software.
Willamette
students who connect computers to the campus network
(ResNet or BlitzNet) will have the option of downloading
Symantec AntiVirus for free during the network registration
process. Students who do not connect computers to
the campus network (such as those who live off campus
and have a non-Willamette ISP) are responsible for
purchasing, installing, and updating their own anti-virus
software. Willamette employees must purchase their
own anti-virus software whether they connect their
personal computers to the campus network or not.
To
remove a virus infection, simply download the most
recent virus definitions from the software manufacturer's
website, then use your anti-virus software to scan
your hard drive.
*Important!
Some viruses can disable your anti-virus
software, particularly if your software is not up
to date. That is why it is imperative that you update
your virus definitions on a regular basis, at least
once a week. If your subscription for free updates
expires, you should resubscribe as soon as possible,
even if there's a cost. It's well worth the money!
If
you are infected with a virus, and you don't have
anti-virus software installed, you should purchase
and install some immediately. Also, special fix
tools exist for particular viruses that you can
download from the web and save to a floppy disk.
Contact the WITS Help Desk at x6767 for more information.
Important
Things to Remember
-
If
you do not have up to date anti-virus
software, you are at risk.
-
Anti-virus
software should be updated at least once a week,
and preferably once a day - It is not effective
if it's not up to date.
-
Viruses
are most commonly spread through email attachments
and file sharing (Network Neighborhood or Peer-to-Peer
file sharing utilities).
-
Viruses
can potentially destroy all of the data on your
hard drive.
-
Anti-virus
websites like Norton
and McAfee
provide free removal tools for certain viruses.
If your anti-virus software will not clean or
quarantine your virus, you should check at one
of these sites for alternative removal instructions.
-
Even
after you've cleaned a virus, depending on the
damage it caused, it may still be necessary
to reinstall your operating system. You need
to have copies of all of your original system
software in order to do this.
-
If
you get a virus infection on your computer and
don't know what to do, call the WITS Help
Desk at 503-370-6767.
