Viruses and Safe Computing

Large universities and major corporations as well as small colleges have fallen victim to rapidly spreading viruses, which can have devastating effects on essential network services. Knox has been proactive in this area restricting certain network services which are exploited by viruses and worms to propagate themselves throughout the network. As students, faculty, and staff join a network of more than 1,500 computers, these measures of protection are needed to avoid rampant propagation.

Anti-Virus Software

The College provides Sophos AntiVirus/AntiMalware software to all Knox community members free of charge. Any personally owned computer attaching to the Knox College Data Network is required to have Sophos AntiVirus/AntiMalware software installed.

• Windows PC Installation
• MacOS Installation

Anyone having difficulty installing the software should contact the Information Technology Services Help Desk before attempting to connect to the campus network. In this context, "connecting" to the network includes directly plugging into the campus Ethernet network, using wireless on campus, or connecting with VPN from a third party Internet Service Provider (ISP). Simply accessing Webmail or the College website from off campus via a local ISP is not covered.

System Software Updates

Many viruses and worms take advantage of identified vulnerabilities within operating systems. Microsoft and Apple release patches to fix these known problems on a regular basis but many users neglect to install them. Unlike many e-mail borne viruses requiring the user to open an attachment, many of the operating system exploit viruses infect vulnerable machines by simply connecting to the Internet.

• Windows PC users must install all critical updates issued by Microsoft as they become available via Windows Update. Please note that the latest service packs are included in the required critical updates.
• Macintosh users must install all security updates issued by Apple via Software Update.

If Your System Is Infected

Due to the adverse impact infected computers have on the data network as a whole, the following actions will be taken when an infected computer is found:

• The infected computer will be denied network access.
• The owner, if he/she can be determined from the information available, will be informed that his/her computer is infected.
• The owner will be notified that he or she must bring the infected machine to Informaiton Technology Services to verify that all critical operating system patches have been applied and that the Sophos software is installed and functioning correctly.
• A $50 fee will be assessed for this service.
• Network access will only be enabled when the infected computer is verified as cleaned and protected.

Information Technology Services provides support and maintenance for all College owned equipment. The maintenance of personally owned computer equipment connected to the Knox Data Network is the responsibility of the owner.

IMPORTANT: Personally owned computers found not to be in compliance with the above requirements will be disconnected from the College Data Network until Information Technology Services examines the machine and verifies that the antivirus software is installed and functioning correctly, all required patches have been installed and there are no open shares. A $50 fee will be assessed for this service. The College requires antivirus software on all computers attaching to the network.