Dealing with Viruses
Viruses can spread in a number of ways. The most common way is through email, but you can also be infected by visiting malicious web-sites. Viruses can also spread directly from one PC to another across the network through vulnerabilities in the Windows operating system. You have three lines of defence against viruses:
- Centrally maintained security
- All mail traffic is scanned on the mail servers: This is done by the MailScanner program which runs on all our mail servers. MailScanner uses Sophos anti-virus software to recognise viruses. The virus definitions (sometimes referred to as the "signature strings") are updated every hour.
- Our network integrated firewall: polices various security zones, and provides a high degree of protection from inbound attacks from outside a specific zone, which exploit the known vulnerabilities of the Windows, and other, operating systems.
- Protection on your own computer
- Anti-Virus software: Protection is needed against viruses which are brought into the University network on laptops or on disks, and which are therefore not caught be the Mailscanner. For Windows users, the University has a site licence for the F-Secure Anti-Virus software. You can download it from the LIS web pages and install it free of charge (see below). Mac users are recommended to install Symantec Anti-Virus, which can be ordered (price £31) through the IT Service Desk.
- Microsoft critical updates: All the critical security updates for Windows must be installed as they become available. The network firewall offers no protection against attacks from infected laptops brought into a specific zone within the University. Nor can it protect against new forms of attack.
- Your own sensible precautions
- The anti-virus software used by the Mailscanner and on your own computer use databases of virus definitions to recognise viruses. New viruses can spread rapidly and may arrive in St Andrews before the anti-virus software is able to recognise them. You must be prepared for viruses to get through the first two lines of defence. You need to exercise reasonable caution. Don't open documents or click on links which arrive with unsolicited email. Trust only messages which come from known correspondents and which you know have been sent intentionally.
- Install or Update the F-Secure Anti-Virus software
- How to keep the virus definition database up-to-date (only needed by those running old versions of the scanning software which do not have the automatic updates feature)
- Security updates for Microsoft Windows
- General advice on recognising possible viruses
- Notes on recent security alerts
- Notes on keeping your data safe
