From: Administrative E-Memo (memofrom@Colorado.EDU)
Date: Tue Aug 23 2011 - 18:30:04 MDT
Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:30:04 -0600 (MDT) From: Administrative E-Memo <memofrom@Colorado.EDU> Subject: Keep Your Computer Protected with Updated Antivirus Software and the Malware Detection and Remediation Program
TO: Boulder Campus Teaching & Research Faculty, Staff,
Deans, Directors, Dept Chairs
FROM: Office of Information Technology (OIT)
SENDER: Dan Jones, Director of IT Security
DATE: August 23, 2011
SUBJECT: Keep Your Computer Protected with Updated Antivirus Software and the Malware Detection and Remediation Program
Antivirus software is one of the most important tools for safeguarding your
computer, vital University information, and personal data from viruses and
worms. All CU Boulder faculty, staff and students are encouraged to check their
computers for a current version of antivirus software, as some software has
been updated.
The IT Security Office (ITSO) recommended software (listed below) is available
on the OIT website at http://oit.colorado.edu/antivirus.
-- Computers provided for work (university owned) should download Microsoft
Forefront (for Windows) and iAntivirus (for Mac). The campus is currently
evaluating security options for OSX 10.7 (a.k.a. OSX Lion).
-- Personally owned computers should download Microsoft Security Essentials
(for Windows) and Sophos (for Mac).
An updated version of Microsoft Forefront is available for university owned
Microsoft Windows systems. If you have previously installed Microsoft
Forefront, we recommend that you download and install the latest version,
Forefront 2010, to ensure that your computer has the most current detection
software.
Help the Campus Stay Safe Online
For those individuals installing Microsoft Forefront 2010, OIT and the IT
Security Office (ITSO) are excited to announce a new program to help the campus
collaborate in keeping our online network environment safe. The Malware
Detection and Remediation Program (MDRP) allows Microsoft Forefront users on
the Boulder campus to work in conjunction with the ITSO to report computers
impacted by malicious attacks. This enables a faster response and remediation
of harmful or malicious software (often called malware, spyware, viruses, etc.)
and prevents it from spreading through our network.
During the installation of the updated client, you will be asked if you want to
take part in the program. By choosing "yes" in a prompt, the software will
report malware and out-of-date antivirus software to the ITSO. No additional
action is required by the antivirus customer to participate. The ITSO has
developed processes to collect a report containing network address,
infection type, infected file name, antivirus software update status. The
content of files on your computer are not included in the report. Providing
this information helps to protect the campus by reducing impact of malware from
interacting on the campus network and potentially impacting others. The ITSO
will also use antivirus software logs when working with departments to ensure
that computer systems are secure.
Virus infections on the University of Colorado Boulder campus create a
significant burden on the faculty and staff whose computers become infected and
the IT staff that remediate the infection. A virus can waste system and network
resources, collect or expose sensitive information, and cause software and
hardware failures. Fixing these problems post-infection requires a lot of time
and effort, usually resulting in rebuilding the system from scratch. This
burden is increased exponentially when the virus infects multiple computers on
campus. Through effective alerting and correlation with other events on campus,
the ITSO will be able to contain virus infections to a far more limited number
of systems, decreasing the burden on IT end users and staff.
For more information about the Malware Remediation and Detection Program
(MRDP), visit the OIT website on antivirus protection at
http://oit.colorado.edu/forefront.
If you have any questions, please contact the IT Service Center at 303-735-4357
(or 5-HELP from an on-campus phone) or help@colorado.edu. Phone help is
available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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