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WMU > Security

Virus Information

Members of the campus community continue to see new viruses (actually, viruses, worms and Trojan horses) on a daily basis. Most arrive in the form of a file attached to an e-mail, sometimes masquerading as a message from someone on campus or even from a Western Michigan University office. Opening the attachment will launch a virus, typically designed to infect computers running Microsoft Windows. For additional information please see the virus and security frequently asked questions.

A virus that spreads by e-mail often goes through an infected computer's e-mail address book to find other addresses it can send itself to. Sometimes it will also use the harvested addresses to forge the name of the sender, the 'From' field at the head of an e-mail message. Note that this does not mean the apparent sender of a virus-laden e-mail is necessarily infected with the virus.

Technology cannot deliver complete protection. Western Michigan University's Office of Information Technology provides two lines of defense against these e-mail-born viruses:

• Most incoming mail is scanned by anti-virus software on the post office mail gateway that filters out known viruses.
• Symantec/Norton AntiVirus has been licensed for use by all members of the University community and is available as a software download by logging in to gowmu.wmich.edu with your Bronco NetID and password and then scrolling down to the "Virus Protection Downloads" channel found on Home tab.

Everyone should be running this software, or other anti-virus software on their Windows or Macintosh desktops, with current virus definitions and with Real Time Protection turned on. Please see the OIT Help Desk How To, "Using Anti-Virus Software" for more information. (If you are on a departmental network, please check with your technical support personnel about processes for keeping anti-virus software up-to-date.) If using Windows, you should also regularly run your ‘Windows Update’. This will give you the opportunity to download to your computer any Microsoft patches available. It is recommended that you run your Windows Update at least once per week. Again, your departmental technical support staff or the OIT Help Desk staff can assist you with this process. These defenses cannot, however, guarantee that you are safe from all viruses. For each new virus, there is an inevitable lag before our anti-virus software suppliers can develop and deliver updates, and even then their approach to detection isn't always definitive.

Beware of files attached to e-mail messages. Be very careful about opening e-mail attachments, especially on computers running Microsoft Windows, the target of most current viruses. Since these viruses can forge the name of the sender, a message that looks like it's from someone you know could be a trap.

• In considering whether to open an attachment, you should evaluate the plausibility of the apparent sender and contents. The safest approach is to not open an attachment unless it's something you were expecting. If it appears to be from someone you know, you might want to check with that person before opening the attachment.

• Attachments with file extensions ending in .exe, .cmd, .com, .bat, .scr, .scf, .pif, .vbs and .zip deserve particular caution. This does not represent a complete list of file extensions known to harbor viruses, just a sampling of those to be cautious about.

• Make sure the e-mail software on your computer is not configured to automatically open attachments.

If you are on a departmental network, you should work with your college or department technical support personnel to ensure that your computer's software, including anti-virus, is kept up-to-date. This person should also be able to help you clean up an infected computer, if necessary.

Others needing assistance in removing a virus infection can contact the Office of Information Technology's Help Desk at http://www.wmich.edu/oit/helpdesk/ or call them at (269) 387-HELP (4357).

To review information about the latest known viruses, please see the Virus and Hoax Information page.

Any virus or other security warning messages initiated by the Office of Information Technology should only be using the ‘From’ e-mail address of "WMU OIT Security" or "oit-security@wmich.edu", depending on your e-mail configuration.

If you receive e-mail which you suspect may contain a virus, or you simply are concerned about, forward the entire message, including attachments and header information to: virus-checker@wmich.edu. For instructions on including the header information, please see Forwarding Suspect Messages.