A student who brings his or her computer to Information Technologies Client Support & Services (IT-CS&S) to be cleaned of viruses, adware, spyware, and peer-to-peer (P2P) software will be charged a fee for this service. Information about the policy and its intent are explained below.
Question
What is the computer virus
cleanup policy?
Answer
Students will be charged for
examination and cleanup services
performed on a computer contaminated
with viruses, adware, spyware, P2P
software, and other items that pose
risks to the UD campus network.
Question
Why is this policy necessary?
Answer
As well as causing problems on an
individual's infected computer, the
campus network and the entire UD
community are at risk from computers
that are infected with viruses,
spyware, adware, etc. In addition, the
owners of computers that are identified
as sharing copyrighted material risk
prosecution for violation of copyright
laws.
Our educational initiative on responsible computing—education sessions in residence halls and other programs—has raised awareness of the risks of viruses, spyware, and P2P programs.
However, many students still have not taken the necessary steps to prevent their computers from infecting the UD campus network: Everyone must be proactive in guarding against the risks that these programs present.
The computer cleanup policy is designed to encourage students to avoid loss of network access and the inconvenience of losing the use of their computer.
Question
What will happen if a
computer becomes infected?
Answer
When an infected system is detected by
the network, the Internet port will be
automatically disconnected from the UD
network.
Before the port can be reactivated, the computer must be cleaned and patched. Students have ONE OPPORTUNITY to clean and patch the infected computer themselves. If the problem is not corrected and the port is deactivated a second time, the student will be required to have the system cleaned by IT-CS&S before a network connection will be restored. Students will be charged a fee for this service.
Question
What behaviors might this
policy prevent?
Answer
File sharing of copyrighted material is
a concern because it is illegal. We
hope that the policy will encourage
students to refrain from illegal
activities. Downloading and
distributing copyrighted songs, movies,
software, or other protected works
without permission from the copyright
owner or agent is illegal and is a
violation of the University's Policy for Responsible
Computing.
If a computer connected to the UD network is found to be involved in the illegal distribution of copyrighted material, these are the steps that the University will take.
Question
How can a student prevent his
or her computer from becoming infected
with viruses, spyware, and possibly
participate in illegal downloading?
Answer
Computers can get infected by viruses
if they are not running up-to-date
anti-virus software. UD has a site
license for the McAfee
Anti-Virus software. The software
can be obtained free for any computer
on the campus network, so there is no
excuse for not keeping a computer
virus-free.
Most spyware and adware can be avoided by taking care when you download programs to your computer. For example, many P2P programs install additional programs that generate pop-ups. Students can also install and use free anti-malware programs, which help prevent and remove spyware and malware.
Question
How can a student tell when
his or her computer has become
infected?
Answer
Students should be running UD's
site-licensed version of McAfee
Anti-Virus software. This program
will identify and delete viruses and
trojans on the computer. This version
is provided to the campus for free, and
it is automatically updated when the
computer is connected to the network,
providing continual protection from
virus infection. Students should also
be checking for and deleting spyware at least once a week. See
the IT Support Center's security
site for more information about how
to maintain a secure computer.
Question
Where can students get their
computers cleaned?
Answer
Any student who would like to have his
or her computer cleaned by IT-CS&S
must first call the IT Support Center at
(302) 831-6000 to be assigned an Incident Report tracking number and make an
appointment to bring the computer to
the lower-level of Smith Hall to be
cleaned.
Question
How is the cleanup fee
charged?
Answer
The fee will be charged to the
student's account and will appear on
the student's bill.
