Viruses spread easily on computer networks, and the UMF network is no exception.  A virus can damage or destroy data on your hard drive--homework, research papers, music files, e-mail--and can cause your computer to stop working entirely.  If your computer has a virus that endangers other machines on campus, we may even be forced to disconnect your computer from the internet. 

The Computer Center can't prevent viruses from reaching your personal computer, but we've put together some tips to help you keep your computer virus-free:

1. Your first and best defense is to have an antivirus program and to keep it current with all the latest updates.  Many new machines come with Norton Antivirus or a similar program, but sometimes they only include a few months of updates, so be sure that yours is up to date.  An outdated antivirus program isn't much better than none at all.
    

2. You also need to avoid potential virus sources.  Many viruses spread through e-mail and instant messenger, so you shouldn't open suspicious messages, especially ones that contain attachments that you weren't expecting.  You should also scan any files you download from the internet and use caution if surfing around the "darker side" of the web, where there are plenty of sneaky ways for people to mess up your computer.  In addition, you should scan removable media (floppy disks, zip disks, CD-R's, etc.) that have been used in other computers to be sure that none of the files on them have been infected.  The most commonly infected files are executables (ending in EXE or COM), scripts (common endings are VBS and JS), and Microsoft Word documents (usually ending in DOC), but these files can be disguised as harmless types so it's best to scan everything. 
    

3. Viruses also spread freely through shared directories, which are folders on your computer's hard drive that are accessible to other people on the network.  Many people have shared directories without even knowing it, theoretically allowing anyone on the internet to add or remove files from their computers.  Most computers with Windows XP, for example, have a "Shared Documents" folder that is freely accessible to other computers on campus.  Installing file-sharing programs like Kazaa or Morpheus also creates shared directories, so any computer that has these programs is an easy target.  Viruses can use shared folders to copy themselves to many computers very quickly.  In fact, if your computer has any shared directories, you probably have a virus (or more) right now.  You can protect yourself by un-sharing shared folders on your computer and by disabling File and Printer Sharing in your network settings.  These procedures vary by operating system, so consult your computer's documentation or search the internet for more specific instructions.  If you have KaZaa, Morpheus, or any other file-sharing program, you may be able to limit your risk by uninstalling the program.  Because these programs alter many of your computer's settings, however, even uninstalling them may not be enough and might even cause problems.  Therefore, we strongly recommend not installing them in the first place.

IMPORTANT:  These instructions are the Computer Center's recommendations to help you avoid computer viruses.  We have no way to keep viruses off your personal computer.  We provide you with a free anti-virus program, however, it is your responsibility to keep your virus program active, up to date and perform routine virus scans.  Also be advised that while altering your network settings and uninstalling file-sharing programs may reduce your risk, unfortunately we are not responsible for any damage that you may do to your computer in the process.