VIRUS PROTECTION

What is a Virus and how can it get into my computer?

Viruses are man-made programs written by people who want to see how powerful they can be by disrupting other's computer work. Virus programs can only get into your computer from the outside. They can enter when you open a file from a disk, open an attachment from your e-mail or download something from the Internet (including graphic files).

What should I do to avoid getting a virus?

Positive steps to protect your equipment from viruses are encouraged. All eMINTS computers have McAfee Virus Protection software on them. It will not do any good unless the new virus (DAT) files are downloaded on a regular basis and a scan of all of the files is performed. Below are the steps to follow in order to keep your computer, laptop and the student's computers free of viruses. If you regularly do this there will be no problem with bringing disks in from home or downloading graphics or other files.

1. UPDATE YOUR DAT FILE - Updating keeps McAfee current on the Viruses out today. Each week hundreds of new viruses appear. McAfee keeps a website with an update that changes weekly. Keep your computer current by updating the DAT file once a week. The following is the process.
   • Open Netscape and go to: http://download.mcafee.com/updates/updates.asp
   • Follow the directions on the web page to download the SuperDAT file. When a window opens direct the file to be downloaded to your desktop.
   • When the computer is done downloading minimize your browser and find the new Icon on your desktop. It should be named something like this: 4080.exe. Click on it twice and it will install in the correct place in your McAfee program.
   • After you have installed it open the McAfee program by clicking on the McAfee Virus Central Icon on the Desktop or finding it in START-PROGRAMS-MCAFEE VIRUSSCAN. In the window you should find the same number as the file name (here it is 4080) listed as the virus definitions.
2. RUN A REGULAR VIRUS SCAN - Now you have the latest virus information in your computer, but you still need to scan your files. Here is the method:
   • Go to START-PROGRAMS-MCAFEE VIRUSSCAN. Open the folder and find the main program, McAfee VirusScan Central. Click on it to start the program.
   • In the program window you will see a scan button. First you must tell it what to scan by clicking in the boxes below. If you scan all files it will take hours, so you may want to do this at a convenient time. It can scan the files in the background while you are working on other things, but it may make your programs run slowly. You should do a full scan on a regular basis.
   • You can also choose to only scan the A drive. That is important to do when a student brings in a disk from home to use. You do not need to forbid students to bring disks back and forth, but you should always scan disks for viruses (or teach an expert student to do it) so that viruses are caught before being passed on.
   • By pressing the "schedule" button in McAfee you can set up a schedule and as long as the computer is on it can automatically do the scan on whatever schedule you set up. You will still have to manually download the new DAT files however, or the scans won't help much. (More on Scheduling)

In order to avoid passing around viruses it is recommended that the virus protection be kept up to date on all of the machines. Here is a suggestion of how it can be done with minimal frustration.

1. On a regular basis (every Monday, every other Wednesday, any regular time that works for you) download the new DAT file onto your teacher workstation.
2. Put that icon into the Shared file if you are on a peer to peer network or on a networked drive. If your school has a server with a networked drive your network administrator may be willing to download the update to a certain file once a week. Then all you would need to do is install it and then run the scan.
3. When the students are at their computers have them find the icon in the shared folder or on the networked drive. When they click twice on the icon it will install the new DAT files to the correct places on their computers. You can demonstrate on the SmartBoard with your teacher workstation.
4. It will only take a minute (or less) and the new DAT file will be installed on every computer.
5. In order to have a regular scan done you could set up a schedule on each computer so that it would run during lunch, or in the background while the kids are doing other things (More on Scheduling). If it is a scheduled task it will just happen and you will not have to remind the kids to do it. You will have to go to each of the computers to set this up OR you can demonstrate with your workstation and have the kids each set up their own computer.

Be careful when you hear about viruses. Do not automatically pass on the information. If it is a real virus the news will get around. If it is a Hoax no one needs the extra worry and e-mail. If you are concerned here are some websites you can go to in order to see if it is a known hoax.

Symantec AntiVirus Research Center

Computer Virus Myths

Don't Spread That Hoax

F-Secure Hoax Warnings