Viruses, worms, trojans and other malware pose the biggest security threats to computer users today. They spread easily between unprotected computers. Machines running peer-to-peer software, being used to watch illegal streaming media sites are most at risk. Software reporting to clean/speed-up your PC is often a scam or malicious software, and should be avoided.

Protect Your Computer

Install a good antivirus/anti-malware program and enable your firewall.   It is also important to keep the operating system up to date with patches and updates. These important security patches fix flaws in operating systems that may leave your computer vulnerable to malware.

Read the webpages of Cyber Sercurity @ Cambridge​.

Hoaxes

Never believe emails circulating that ask for bank details. Your bank will never ask for personal information via e-mail. If you are in any doubt, contact your bank by phone using the number provided on their official website, rather than any contact information provided in the e-mail.

Another common hoax is an e-mail or browser pop-up informing you that your computer has been infected with viruses or spyware, and urging you to click a link to download software to remove them. An e-mail or browser pop-up cannot have gathered information about the state of your computer, and these links are more often than not links to viruses or spyware. Only trust information about viruses or spyware from your virus scanner or spyware scanner. If in doubt, contact the IT Helpdesk for confirmation.

Questions?

If you have any questions about security or viruses please e-mail the helpdesk.