Virus Protection Guidelines
WebTycho and its servers are not vulnerable to viruses, but they can be the vehicle by which other people may deliver viruses. When we become aware that a virus infected document has been uploaded in a classroom then we delete it immediately. See also, Security in WebTycho
A virus is an invasive piece of computer code written deliberately to damage computers and is usually hidden in executable files posted online. To avoid damage to your own computer system as well as to avoid unwittingly passing viruses on to other users it is important to regularly use and update virus scanner software.
Students and faculty are responsible for maintaining virus protection software on their own computers. Please note that the we do not endorse or offer technical support for third party software.
Purchase
Anti-virus software is available for purchase from many vendors. Once installed, we recommend that you periodically visit the company's website for upgrades and virus news. Popular products for purchase are available from www.mcafee.com and www.symantec.com
Freeware
Anti-virus software is available for free from many sources. Suppliers of these free programs change from time to time so we recommend a search of the internet to find currently available freeware.
Download Free Anti-Virus Software from UMUC
This free virus protection software is available to UMUC WebTycho class members for
use with files exchanged in online classrooms. Instructions and a link to the software is available at http://apps.umuc.edu/antivirus/index.htm
Students and Faculty Should
Additional Precautions
- E-mail attachments should never be opened unless you are 100% certain of the nature of the attachment, who sent it, and why it was sent. Unsolicited e-mail attachments, regardless of who the sender is should be treated as potential virus hazards. Proceed with caution.
- Students and faculty should refrain from downloading files from questionable Internet sites such as freeware/shareware sites run by "no-name" companies or individuals senders you do not recognize.
- No one, regardless of your relationship to the person, should be considered a "trusted source", because any computer can become infected with a hidden virus at any time. This is particularly true if the owner is careless or haphazard about downloading files, not virus checking files and attachments, and not updating his or her virus definition files.
- It is impossible for e-mail messages themselves to contain or be a virus, however attachments to messages may indeed contain viruses. Therefore, before opening any file you should first save it to disk and then run the virus detection program.
- WebTycho itself does not spread viruses, but any file that is uploaded to WebTycho (or anywhere on the Internet, for that matter) by a student or faculty member could be infected.
- Viruses CAN be delivered by any executable file (.exe) or program downloaded from the World Wide Web. Microsoft Word files which contain a macro are one of the common ways to contract a virus.
Use the Macro Virus Protection feature in Microsoft Word to avoid getting a macro virus.
- Open the Microsoft Word program on your computer.
- Click on Tools/Options from the menu bar.
- Click on the General tab.
- Place a check mark in front of the option Macro Virus Protection.
- The next time you open a Microsoft Word file that contains a macro, a warning box will appear on the screen. Always choose the "Disable Macro" option to lessen your chance of receiving a virus.
In Microsoft Word 2000
Select Tools/Macros/Security and select High to automatically disable macros. If you select medium you will be asked whether you wish to run the macro.
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