Malicious Code - Viruses, Worms, Trojans & Spyware - Information Technology at the University of Northern Colorado

Information Security

Malicious Code (Viruses, Worm, Trojans and Spyware)

Malicious Code has sadly become a ‘normal’ way of life. Defence against malicious code takes place by deploying a series of counter-measures. For UNC owned and managed computing equipment malicious code protection can be left to the specialists, but there are simple precautions you should take to reduce the threat:

Ways of reducing virus risks

You can’t always avoid receiving a virus, because the central anti-virus measures only protect against known threats, and new viruses and attacks occur constantly. The following ‘Golden Rules’ may help you to avoid problems:

Be vigilant when opening mail

Look at the subject description and sender prior to opening the mail. Is it mail you are expecting, or is it unsolicited? If it’s unsolicited be extra careful. Be careful even when the sender is someone you know (as viruses may use the various e-mail address books to choose ‘victims’).
If you are comfortable with the subject and sender, then read the message in the preview pane. Again, be suspicious of anything unexpected or unusual, there are viruses written in HTML that can be activated in the Preview Pane.
Never open attachments unless you know the sender and have verified the message contents.
Don’t open attachments with a strange icon
Refer back to the sender for ‘strange’ attachments, or if you question the authenticity of the message. Do this before opening any attachment!
Many viruses can automatically reply to messages found in the Inbox of an infected PC.

Keep your PC anti-virus software up to date

Over 500 new viruses are discovered each month, and the virus software installed on our PCs is updated while we work, when connected to the network, either in the office or via a dial-up line or VPN link. Normally this happens invisibly in the background. To check your version of anti-virus protection, right click on the Symantec anti-virus icon, and click ‘About’. The virus definitions should not be more than one week old. If not, please contact the TSC immediately.

Back up your files on a regular basis

This at least ensures that if seriously impacted by malicious code you can get up and running very quickly. You should store your data or a backup copy in a separate secure location from your work files, one that is preferably not on your computer. Use your “H” drive and other designated network locations that are regularly backed by IT to store important work data.

Don’t forget other sources of malicious code

Not all malicious is delivered via e-mail, downloaded software is also a threat. Exercise extreme caution when downloading files from the Internet. Always ‘save to disk’ and never run it directly. Then specifically verify downloaded files with the anti-virus program.