Anti-virus

Use and maintain an anti-virus software

 

The University of Maine system provides "Symantec Anti-Virus" software for each staff, faculty and student to install on one personally-owned computer (Windows or Mac).  Contact your Campus IT Help Desk for instructions specific to your campus. 

 

When looking at anti-virus for your personally owned devices you can go with off the shelf versions, such as Norton and Trend Micro, or you can go with free anti-virus software.  It is the opinion of many that the free versions work as well as the the more costlier version you can purchase. 

One such product is called AVG.  PCmag.com ranks it higher than the commercial competition and members of our staff have used it in the past.

*If you already have one anti-virus running on your computer, do not   install and run another.

Anti-spyware

Use and maintain anti-spyware

Spyware is a silent way for people to gain access and essentially, watch over your shoulder and take your personal information from your computer.  Ad-Aware can put a stop to pop-up advertisements, trojans, malware, and browser hijackers.  This is a free product and has been used by members of the Information Security  team.

Securing the PC

Is your version of Windows up to date?

Keeping Windows up to date ensures that you have the most current security updates installed.  Older versions of Windows cannot be secured against modern internet security threats.  Windows has made it simple to check.  Follow their directions below to ensure your version of Windows is up to date and secure as it can be.

1. Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button.  In the search box, type Update and then, in the list of results, click Windows Update.

2. In the left pane, click Check for updates, and then wait while Windows looks for the latest updates for your computer.

3. If any updates are found, click Install updates.

You might see both important and optional updates.  If you don't see the Install updates button when there are only optional updates, click Optional updates available, choose the ones you want, and then click OK.