Northern State University Anti-Virus Policy
Scope
This document describes the measures taken by
the University to counter computer viruses and
identifies the responsibilities of individuals,
departments and Computer Services (CS) in
protecting the University against viruses.
Introduction
A virus is a piece of self-replicating code,
most often a malicious software program designed
to destroy or damage information on computers.
Some viruses cause no damage apart from
reproducing, but a significant number are
specifically designed to cause data loss or to
compromise the confidentiality of files by
sending copies of them to others.
Potential sources of viruses include shared
media such as floppy disks or CD-ROMs,
electronic mail (including, but not limited to,
files attached to messages), and software or
documents copied over networks such as the
campus network and the Internet.
A virus infection is almost always costly to the
institution whether through the loss of data
(possibly permanent), staff time to recover a
system, or the delay of important work. Viruses
spread from the University can lead to damage to
the University’s reputation and can make the
University vulnerable to possible litigation
that costs money and the staff effort necessary
for investigation and remedy.
Computer Services’ Responsibilities
Licenses
• CS purchases Symantec Norton Anti-virus (NAV)
licenses for PCs and MACs. Installation of
Symantec Anti-Virus is required on student owned
machines in the dorms. This product is offered
free of charge to all students of NSU and is
installed as part of the Cisco Clean Agent
process (mandatory). Product is configured to
automatically receive virus definition updates
from the SAV Corporate Edition server.
• Deployment of anti-virus software
• CS staff installed NAV on the basic images
used for all faculty, staff and lab machines.
The software is available on the network for all
computers running Windows 95+.
• Updating of software
• CS will keep the anti-virus products it
provides up to date. We utilize Symantec
Anti-Virus Corporate Edition with centralized
policy management. This allows us to
automatically deploy new virus definitions to
workstations configured in “managed” mode. We
are in the process of configuring the SAV
clients to scan workstation hard drives monthly.
Containment of Virus incidents
• CS staff will take appropriate action to
contain virus infections and assist in their
removal. In order to prevent the spread of a
virus, or to contain damage being caused by a
virus, CS may remove a suspect computer from the
network or disconnect a segment of the network.
• Advice and Assistance
• CS will provide advice to individuals on
installing the anti-virus products and on virus
protection generally. This includes advice on
virus hoaxes, including occasional circulars on
specific hoaxes.
• CS will assist individuals with recovery from
viruses. This includes advice on containment to
stop the spread, help with removing viruses,
taking note of information about the incident
and advice on how to prevent a recurrence.
Knowledge and expertise
• CS will maintain knowledge and expertise on
viruses and virus protection. This will be kept
up to date through suitable staff training,
awareness and access to resources.
Servers
• CS will perform periodic sweeps of server
system files and staff/student file stores.
Real-time scanning will be in place on all file
and web servers.
Electronic Mail
• CS utilizes Trend Micro ScanMail for
protection of our faculty and student Microsoft
Exchange Servers. Incoming mail is scanned
before it is delivered to a user’s mailbox and
infected attachments are cleaned or deleted if
not cleanable. We are also currently blocking
potentially harmful files with extensions such
as .pif, .bat, .vbs, .zip, .exe, etc.
Plans
• SAV will continue to be installed on
university owned machines with virus definitions
being pushed out to the managed machines.
Departmental Responsibilities
• Some departments manage their own computers
and responsibility for virus protection on these
computers lies with the Department. This
includes installing SAV, removing any viruses
found and applying any updates necessary to
defend against possible threats. The Chief
Information Officer will ensure that these
responsibilities are allocated to an appropriate
member of staff.
• All departmentally managed computers must use
the most current version of SAV and configure
the client in managed mode. Real-time scanning
must be enabled.
• Departments managing their own servers must
also install SAV.
Individual Responsibilities
Using University Systems on Campus
• All staff and students are responsible for
taking suitable measures to protect against
virus infection and failure to do so may
constitute an infringement of the University’s
Acceptable Use Policy. A user who allows their
computer to become infected puts at risk their
own work and other people’s systems and data
within the University and beyond.
• Faculty/Staff must have SAV installed and
ensure that it is working. To determine if SAV
is running on your computer, look for the gold
shield
in the lower right hand corner. If there is a
yellow splat, or a red circle with a line
through it, on the shield, please call the Net
Services Helpdesk immediately.
• Staff and students using the University’s
computers should adopt the following ‘best
practice’ at all times.
- Exercise extreme caution when opening attachments and check for viruses before opening.
- Perform regular backups of data on individual desktop systems.
- If your computer is infected, remove the machine from the network immediately.
- Report any virus found to the NET Services Helpdesk. Provide the following information if known: virus name, extent of infection, source of virus, and potential recipients of infected material.
- Any virus warnings or hoaxes should be forwarded to CS who can confirm whether or not it is genuine. Do NOT forward these warnings to anyone else.
- Allow NAV to scan hard drives monthly.
• Staff or students who are authorized to attach their own computers to the University network must ensure that their computer has virus protection to the same level as University owned equipment.
Using computers at home
Obviously, not everything that staff and
students do at home on their computers falls
within University policy. However, it is
recommended that in addition to the above, it is
best practice to:
• Update virus protection software frequently (weekly is recommended). SAV is available for student use on their personal computer, whether on or off-campus.
• Install any recommended security patches for the operating system and applications that are in use.