Antivirus & Computer Updates

In the past various colleges and universities have been hit by viruses/worms such as WormBlaster and Welchia. These worms infected a wide variety of computers across the Internet, mostly without the users’ knowledge. Although these computers appeared to run fine, damage was being done to the internal networks and caused outages and network slowness. Because of situations like this example, Information Technology Services (ITS) wants you to be aware of the following.

• Just because you recently purchased a new computer does NOT mean it is protected.
• Make sure you have an antivirus program installed, such as:
  • Sophos Home
    • Be sure to uninstall any existing antivirus software before installing an antivirus program to avoid potential conflicts.
• Make sure you have a spyware or adware removal program installed, such as Malwarebytes. Please note that even if these programs are installed, it is imperative they are updated MONTHLY. Many programs will require you to purchase a subscription contract.
• Verify that your computer makes the minimum requirements in order to properly connect.

Install OS X Updates on a Mac

For steps on how to activate and install OS X updates please visit the Apple support website.

Install Windows Updates for Windows 10 on a PC

Make sure your Windows has all of the latest security updates. In order for you to check, perform the following:

To check for updates using Windows 10 follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button. In the search box, type Update, and then, in the list of results, click Check for updates.
2. In the center pane, click Check for updates, and then wait while Windows looks for the latest updates for your computer.
3. All available updates will be downloaded and installed. You may be prompted to restart now or schedule a time later. Choose the appropriate answer for you.
4. Once you have restarted, all of the updates will have been completely installed and applied.

**For more information regarding Windows updates or other related help topics, check out the Microsoft support website.