Viruses threaten USU computers
As viruses such as the Blaster worm and SoBig Virus made national headlines this month, Utah State University’s Information Technology Services fought them on campus, and the battle could be far from over.
Students can protect their computers with a virus scanning program. Stephen Funk, supervisor of the USU Help Desk, said any computer users connecting to USU’s network are entitled to a free license for McAfee VirusScan, which can be downloaded at mcafee.usu.edu. And, in order to stay current with the new viruses, he recommends everyone “update or renew your files daily or nightly.”
But in order to keep a computer from being infected or compromised, more might need to be done. The Blaster Virus in particular takes advantage of a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, and its purpose, according to Mcafee.com, is to “spread to as many machines as possible. By exploiting an unplugged hole in Windows, the virus is able to execute without requiring any action on the part of the user. The worm also creates a remote access point, allowing an attacker to run system commands at their choosing.”
Consequently, even those who update virus files frequently can be attacked, if they have not also performed a separate Windows virus update, said Miles Johnson, lead network systems specialist.
Josh Dustin, Help Desk consultant, said if a computer that did not have the new Windows update connected to any part of USU’s network, it would be infected within 30 seconds.
Johnson said the Blaster worm probably infected about a fourth of all machines on campus, “and it’s still not completely fixed.”
Another way to keep a computer safe is to be careful when opening e-mail attachments. Many viruses, such as the SoBig virus, spread this way. Dustin said anything unexpected or anything ending in .exe, .pif, .scr or .zip is especially suspicious, as are files with double extensions. An example of a file with a double extension would be fun.jpg.f.
And, he added, even if Copy Ed 8/26/03 ‘you’ is not allowed in articles you know and trust the sender it does not necessarily mean the attachment is safe.
When a computer on campus is identified as infected, Network and Computing Services shuts down the wall jack the computer is plugged into by setting the modem account balance to minus $1,000.
“We don’t discriminate,” said Matt Lorimer, Help Desk consultant. “Anybody can have their jack turned off.”
Access to the network can be reestablished when the virus is cleaned. All faculty, staff and students can contact the Help Desk for assistance or they can bring their machine to the Help Desk.
Viruses not only potentially hurt the user’s computer but can also slow down the network. Anyone with questions or concerns is encouraged to call the Help Desk at 797-4358, e-mail helpdesk@usu.edu or visit helpdesk.usu.edu.
-dhegsted@cc.usu.edu.