Kalamazoo College Virus information Page

To prevent computer viruses spreading within the Kalamazoo College Network, all computers connected to the Kalamazoo College Network are required to have a current, up-to-date antivirus application installed. This requirement includes all computers whether they be student-owned, faculty- or staff-owned, or college-owned computers.

Please read the full text of the Kalamazoo College Computer Virus Policy for additional information on our procedures and fines.

You can find answers to the most frequently asked virus questions by clicking on any of the links below:

What is a virus?

What are Viruses, Worms and Trojan Horses, as defined by Microsoft:

A virus is a piece of computer code that attaches itself to a program or file so it can spread from computer to computer, infecting as it travels. Viruses can damage your software, your hardware, and your files.

Virus (n.) Code written with the express intention of replicating itself. A virus attempts to spread from computer to computer by attaching itself to a host program. It may damage hardware, software, or information.

Just as human viruses range in severity from Ebola to the 24-hour Flu, computer viruses range from the mildly annoying to the downright destructive.

What is a worm?

A worm, like a virus, is designed to copy itself from one computer to another, but it does so automatically by taking control of features on the computer that can transport files or information. Once you have a worm in your system it can travel alone. A great danger of worms is their ability to replicate in great volume. For example, a worm could send out copies of itself to everyone listed in your e-mail address book, and their computers would then do the same, causing a domino effect of heavy network traffic that would slow down our network and the Internet as a whole. When new worms are unleashed, they spread very quickly, clogging networks and possibly making you wait twice as long for you (and everyone else) to view Web pages on the Internet.

Worm (n.) A subclass of virus. A worm generally spreads without user action and distributes complete copies (possibly modified) of itself across networks. A worm can consume memory or network bandwidth, thus causing a computer to stop responding.

Because worms don't need to travel via a "host" program or file, they can also tunnel into your system and allow somebody else to take control of your computer remotely. Recent examples of worms included the Sasser worm and the Blaster worm.

What is a Trojan Horse?

Just as the mythological Trojan Horse appeared to be a gift, but turned out to contain Greek soldiers who overtook the city of Troy, today's Trojan Horses are computer programs that appear to be useful software, but instead they compromise your security and cause a lot of damage. A recent Trojan Horse came in the form of an e-mail that included attachments claiming to be Microsoft security updates, but turned out to be viruses that attempted to disable antivirus and firewall software.

Trojan Horse (n.) A computer program that appears to be useful but that actually does damage.

Trojan Horses spread when people are lured into opening a program because they think it comes from a legitimate source. Trojan Horses can also be included in software that you download for free. Never download software from a source that you don't trust.

How can I tell if I have a virus?

The symptoms of virus infection varies considerably. Eratic and unexplained behavior (Computer or program crashes & freezes) of your system usually is a good indication that something is wrong. It is important that you retrace your steps and remember any actions that would have put you at risk. i.e. did you just open a attachment? did you just downloaded something from a website? did you receive a file from someone else?

Sometimes there will be no symptoms at all even though you may have already been infected. A typical scenario of this case is the virus that sends out infected e-mail to your friends without your knowledge.

All of these symptoms are common signs that your computer has a virus although they could also be caused by hardware or software problems that have nothing to do with having a virus.

If you believe you have a virus contact the helpdesk at x5800 or if you are a student contact your RCC.

What do I do if I find a virus on my computer?

It's a good idea to disconnect your computer from the network as soon as you find out you have a virus. There are times when you'll need to leave it connected to download updates to Symantec AntiVirus or cleaning utilities from online. Otherwise, disconnecting eliminates the possibility of the virus spreading itself to other computers while you clean it off of your computer. The easiest way to disconnect is to simply unplug the ethernet cord from the back of your CPU or the wall.

Contact the Help Desk at x5800 or if you are a student, your RCC if you need assistance in cleaning off the virus.

How do I tell if I already have antivirus software on my computer?

For Faculty and Staff:

For Students:

As of Fall 2004, the College provides Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition (SAVCE) for all students. We highly recommend that you remove any other antivirus package you have installed and install SAVCE. The software is free to students and the subscription for updates and definitions do not expire as other antivirus packages do. Freshman can install the software from the "Welcome to K-College" CD that they recieved in their Freshman Orientation Package. All other students can obtain and install the software from the ResNet server Dragon. The location of and installation directions for the software can be found in the next question.

If you are unsure whether you have antivirus software installed, you can check the programs list on the Start menu and look for an antivirus program. Many major computer manufacturers include at least a trial version of a popular antivirus software package, such as McAfee or Symantec/Norton. But just because the software is installed, doesn't mean it's "turned on," or being updated regularly. If you need assistance in finding this information and you are faculty or staff, please contact the helpdesk at x5800, if you are a student, please contact your RCC

Where can I get College provided Symantec Antivirus software and installation instructions?

What do I install if I run Windows 95?

Kalamazoo College does not support the Windows 95 operating system and does not have the software for you to install. You will have to purchase your own copy of a virus-protection program, or, you could upgrade your operating system.

How can I avoid getting a virus?

One of the most common means by which computer viruses and worms spread is through infected e-mail attachments. When opened, these attachments can give hackers complete control of your machine, or intiate an attack on another machine, or start sending out copies of itself to e-mail addresses it finds on your hard drive or all of the above. Malevolent software of this type has crippled personal machines, e-mail servers, and networks at the College and everywhere on the Internet multiple times and will again, below are a few steps that you can take to avoid infecting your computer with a virus:

Note: Any virus warnings or hoaxes you recieve should be either sent to the helpdesk or, you can find out information on your own from Symantec's Virus Hoax website, they can confirm whether or not it is genuine. Most impoprtantly, do not forward the message to anyone else!

Does the college do anything to reduce my chance of getting a virus?

Yes. We have an antivirus e-mail gateway and antivirus software is installed on the Windows file servers.

The antivirus e-mail gateway scans most e-mail coming from off-campus for viruses. The gateway catches as many incoming viruses as possible before they reach your inbox, but it is not 100% effective. It also cannot detect viruses that you may receive via other e-mail accounts, such as Hotmail, yahoo, or AOL.

The gateway does not scan on-campus and outgoing e-mail automatically. We highly recommend that you configure your e-mail client to scan your out-going e-mail. You can find directions for setting up the Netscape and Mozilla e-mail clients to scan outgoing e-mail here.

Our Windows file servers runn Symantec AntiVirus, and scan every single file as it is read or written. Also, periodically, the file servers will scan every single file they contain.

I want to install a new software program, but the installation process is telling me to turn off my antivirus software. Is that safe?

Sometimes, when you install a new software program, you may need to turn off your antivirus software during installation. This insures that the software is properly installed. Be sure you turn your antivirus software back on again when you are finished.

Can I keep Symantec AntiVirus on my computer after I graduate?

No, the software is only licensed for your use while you are a registered student at Kalamazoo College. You must uninstall Symantec AntiVirus from your computer after you leave the college.

How do students living off-campus get a copy of the software?

If you live off campus, you can bring your Kalamazoo College ID card to Systems & Networking Department located in the publications office of Hicks center and we will provide you with an installation CD.

If you have a laptop, you can bring it on campus, plug it into the network and install it from the network share on dragon. detailed instructions can be found by clicking here.

As a reminder, if you are living off capus and want to use your laptop on the network, you must register it first, click here to get information on registering your laptop on ResNet.

Where can I get additional information about viruses?

Symantec's Security Response website has information on:

• Virus Threats
• Virus Removal Tools
• Security Advisories
• Hoaxes