Anti-Virus Software
Viruses, worms and Trojan horses are common forms of malicious coding perpetrated by cyber criminals. These programs can enter your computer in a variety of ways, and have the potential to wreak havoc.
To protect against these threats and to promote a secure computing environment for all members of Saint Mary's community, ITSS recommends that all personal computers used to access University IT resources have an antivirus program installed. Users are encouraged to consider one of the commercially available antivirus programs for their personal computers. Examples of well-known commercial programs that also offer free license for personal use are Microsoft Defender, AVG Anti-Virus and avast!. University-owned computers are protected by Microsoft Defender Antivirus.
If a university-owned system has been infected by a virus, please contact the Help Desk at 496-8111.
Virus Alerts and Hoaxes
Not all virus infection notices are real. Often emails warning of viruses are actually hoaxes, designed to spread like chain letters. These emails will usually tell you that it's urgent to forward the message to everyone you know in order to prevent an infection.