Virus Information
Windows Defender is the current Windows virus protection software for Faculty and Staff.
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For student, faculty, and staff Windows PC antivirus protection on campus and at home, we recommend Microsoft Defender Antivirus. It comes pre-installed on your machine, so there is no need to install any third-party software.
- Contrary to popular belief, Mac users can get viruses and other malicious items which is why an Antivirus software is of the utmost importance in today's technology driven world.
- If you are interested in a virus protection software solution for Mac OS, we recommend Avast
Some Ways a Virus can propagate:
- Through P2P file sharing utilities such as BitTorrent, Morpheus, Kazaa, LimeWire, and iMesh, among many others
- Having shares that allow everyone full access
- Infected email attachments
- Vulnerabilities in your operating system
Ways to avoid a virus:
- Do not download from or share files to a Peer2Peer site
- Do not open emails with attachments that are not expected or from an unknown source
- Update your anti-virus and Windows Updates regularly
- Do not open files that may be infected
- If in doubt, err on the side of caution
Some informational web page links from Microsoft
Help keep spam out of your Inbox
Email and web scams: How to help protect yourself
How to recognize phishing emails or links
What to do if you've responded to a phishing scam (Please call the Helpdesk at 607-871-2222 if you responded to a phishing scam)
Avoid scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently
Phishing scams that target activities, interests, or news events
If you would like to report a virus to the Alfred University ITS Department or if you have questions please call the Helpdesk at 607-871-2222.