Virus Information
This page provides information about computer viruses at McMaster University. There has been a significant increase in the number of viruses circulating the web, so it is imperative that you keep your anti-virus software up-to-date. McMaster University has a site license for TrendMicro which is available to all faculty members, all researchers, all staff, and all Other McMaster employees from antivirus.mcmaster.ca. You will require a MACID in order to download the software. It is your responsibility to keep your pc and network files virus-free. UTS only disinfects systems on a fee-for-service basis.
NOTE: Under certain circumstances the Windows Security Center provided in Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) may incorrectly report that the virus protection is "OUT OF DATE".
Recent Virus Alerts and Hoaxes
The impact of computer viruses on users can range in severity - from a minor inconvenience to a major problem requiring extensive technical repairs. A virus is a man-made program that gets loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes.
How do computer viruses spread?
Most viruses are spread by reading infected e-mail attachments or by putting an infected program, file or diskette into a "clean" machine. Attachments should always be scanned before opening or if your are unsure of the source, DELETE! You can be a source of contamination to friends and co-workers without knowing it.
Hoaxes
Hoaxes can sometimes be just as damaging to users as real viruses, alarming us into deleting files our systems actually need. Always check with the Technology Service Desk or a reputable anti-virus company, such as Trend, Norton, or McAfee before deleting the file from your own system.
Do not forward any virus warnings of any kind to anyone other than the Technology Service Desk. It doesn't matter if the virus warnings have come from an anti-virus vendor or have been confirmed by any large computer company or your best friend. All virus warnings should be sent to the Technology Service Desk. It is the Service Desk's job to send out all virus warnings, and a virus warning which comes from any other source should be ignored.
Phishing
Beware of e-mails scamming you to reveal private information that will be used for identity theft.
Phishing (pronounced fishing), also known as brand spoofing or carding is the act of sending e-mail falsely claiming to be a legitimate business, directing you to a web site to update personal information that the legitimate organization already has. The hyperlinks in the e-mail look like the real thing, but direct you instead to a bogus web site. The web site looks convincing, often containing logos and trademarks of the real organization. There you are asked to enter personal information such as passwords and credit card, social insurance, and bank account numbers which will be harvested by the perpetrator.
Please understand that a legitimate business would never ask you to enter your personal information in an email, and would not use e-mail to contact you to "confirm your account information". Never provide sensitive personal or financial information such as a credit card number, account number, driver's license number, or social insurance number in response to an e-mail.
Treat such messages as spam and discard them.
Read "Phishing Scams Rise Exponentially" (December 2004 article in C/net news) available at http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-5479145.html.
Instant Messaging Issues
While UTS does not support Instant Messaging (IM) Clients (like MSN Messenger, ICQ, Trillian, etc.), we know that many people on campus regularly use such tools. If you're one of those people, it's important for you to protect yourself when using IM clients.
The IMlogic Threat Center provides a central location for detecting and analyzing IM and peer-to-peer threats. It also plans to alert IM users of threats and help protect against them.
January 21, 2005: Warning for MSN Messenger users:
Do not accept files with the extension PIF from anyone!
The W32/Bropia-A attempts to trick MSN Messenger users into downloading malicious PIF files. Once a file is executed, it runs a trojan horse that allows the hacker to control a victim's machine through Internet Relay Chat. The trojan could potentially be used to reveal system information, log keystrokes, relay spam, or steal sensitive data according to security experts. The Bropia-A worm follows a similar attack on MSN Messenger users last October. That worm, called Funner, altered the Windows host file and added pornography and gaming sites.
Service Desk
| Hours: | Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm |
|---|---|
| Phone: | 905-525-9140 x24357 (2HELP) |
| Email: | uts@mcmaster.ca |
| Location: | Main Campus BSB Rm. 245 |
| Service Catalog: | |
| http://www.mcmaster.ca/uts | |
Service Bulletins
- There are no Service Bulletins at this time