Information Security Office

Office of Information Technology

Viruses & Worms

Protecting Your PC

Your unprotected personal computer may put the UTSA computer network at risk. The University of Texas at San Antonio has taken steps to protect the personal computers on its network from attacks by computer viruses and worms. If you connect a desktop or laptop PC to the UTSA network, you should ensure that your PC is secure.

Symptoms of virus or worm infection:

Your friends tell you that you have sent them e-mail with viruses.
A virus is malicious computer code usually spread via e-mail. Many viruses send copies of themselves to all of the contacts in your e-mail address book. Some viruses will attack and delete files on your hard drive.

Your computer reboots when you haven't told it to.
A computer worm does not require any user intervention -- your PC may be infected through an open port. A symptom of the recent LovSAN/Blaster worm is the automatic rebooting of a PC after a message is displayed about the Windows RPC (Remote Procedure Call) feature.

What you need to do

• Make sure your Windows operating system has been updated. Microsoft releases service packs and patches designed to fix security flaws. Keeping your version of Windows current increases the security of your PC. For more information on Microsoft security and how to protect your PC, go to http://www.microsoft.com/security/
• Install an anti-virus software program and update it on a regular basis. Most viruses are spread through e-mail messages. Clicking on an infected attachment can spread a virus that can cripple your PC or spread it to hundreds of other computers. If possible, configure your anti-virus software to accept automatic virus definition updates from the software company.
• If you suspect your PC is infected, scan your PC for viruses. Check your software documentation for more information. Download the fix program from your software vendor. Some anti-virus software companies like McAfee (http://www.mcafee.com) offer a free Web-based service that can scan your PC for viruses.
• Activate your Internet Connection Firewall (ICF). Turning on your firewall can eliminate annoying -- and possibly destructive -- traffic from the Windows Messenger Service. Windows Messenger is intended to be used by computer network supervisors to broadcast important information, but it is now being used by unscrupulous spammers and hackers.
• Do not open suspicious e-mail attachments.
• Make sure your anti-virus software is set to automatically scan all incoming e-mail. Also, if you use Instant Messaging (IM) software or if you download music from Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks like KaZaa, be aware that they can be used to spread viruses.

©The University of Texas at San Antonio One UTSA Circle San Antonio TX 78249
Revised: 02/01/2008
Refer Comments to: oit@utsa.edu
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