Anti-Virus Information
ResNet Anti-Virus Recommendation for Windows
For students running Microsoft Windows, ResNet officially recommends Microsoft Security Essentials. Microsoft Security Essentials provides protection against viruses and other types of malware for free. It's also very lightweight (download is less than 9MB) and easy to use, while still providing the same level of protection as some paid anti-virus programs.
Microsoft Security Essentials will run on Windows XP, Vista and 7. For information about how to install Microsoft Security Essentials, please visit their website.
ResNet Anti-Virus Recommendation for Macs
Recently, Apple computers have become increasingly popular with college students. While Macs are generally not affected by viruses and malware, they are still quite vulnerable. In fact, in the past few months (as of February 2009), hundreds of thousands of Mac users have been infected with trojans through downloading programs like Adobe Phtoshop and iLife. Also, other viruses may spread through Office Word documents that may cause all your files to become unreadable. For these reasons, we strongly recommend all students to install an anti-virus program on their computers, whether it is a Mac or PC.
Sophos is available to UCSD affiliates for free. Sophos can be downloaded for free at http://software.ucsd.edu/restricted/sophos/ and setup instructions can be found on the website.
After installing Sophos, you will need manually configure the program. To configure Sophos for a Mac, check here.
If you have any difficulty settings up Sophos, please feel free to contact us. If there are problems with the program after setting it up, contact Sophos Support at support-sophos@ucsd.edu or call them at 858-534-1857
Other Anti-virus Software Pacakges
- Norton Antivirus - available at the bookstore
- McAfee Antivirus - available at the bookstore
Free Online Virus Scans
- McAfee Free Online Scan - will detect viruses, but won't help you remove them.
- Symantec Free Online Scan - will detect viruses, but won't help you remove them.
- Trend Micro Online Scan - will detect viruses and remove them.
Free Virus Removal Tool Downloads
- McAfee AVERT Stinger - detects and removes a limited number of viruses.
Free Firewall Software Download
- ZoneAlarm - protects machines without built-in Firewall service from internet attacks.
