ITS to enhance security to prevent virus, malware infections
April 3, 2012 •
Director of IT Infrastructure Services Shirley Bittlingmeier on March 28 announced that Information Technology Services (ITS) is taking new steps to enhance IT security at UCOP.
Over the past six months, UCOP has seen a significant increase in virus and malware infections of desktops and laptops. Viruses and malware are often encountered when someone clicks on bad links sent in e-mail messages or visits websites that secretly install malware on the visitor’s computer.
Generally you can’t know if a link or site is bad before you click on it. Even reputable websites, such as a news organization, may host links in ads that take the visitor to malicious sites.
Once a computer is infected, the risk is high that the virus or malware will spread via the network to other UCOP systems. As a consequence, employees lose work time when the TechDesk has to clean and re-image infected computers.
ITS is taking two steps, starting April 2, to avoid computer infections and reduce down time, including:
- Replacing existing anti-virus software with an improved product that continuously scans your computer for viruses and removes them when possible. You should not notice any change from the current process.
- Implementing a malware prevention service by filtering desktop network traffic through a server that blocks access to known malicious sites.
The new virus scanning software has already been installed on new Dell computers provided through the Technology Asset Management Program. ITS will roll out the anti-virus software and malware prevention service to remaining Windows-based and Apple computers April 2 through May 31, 2012.
If you would like more details about the new service, including how it works, privacy concerns and more, you can find the following on the TechDesk website:
If you have questions or notice any problems during the time of the rollout, please contact the TechDesk at 987-0457 or TechDesk@ucop.edu.
