Helpdesk Disinfection and Acceptable Use Seminar

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Helpdesk Disinfection and Acceptable Use Seminar

• Information Technology Helpdesk
• Updated 5/7/2007

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Course Description

• Welcome to the Helpdesk Virus Disinfection and
  Acceptable Use Seminar. The purpose of this
  seminar is to
• Help you use information resources such as e-mail
  and the Internet safely to protect your computer
  from becoming infected by malware.
• Train you to perform routine maintenance on your
  computer to remove these threats. The
  Disinfection Agent will go into more depth during
  the appointment.

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Disinfection and Acceptable Use Exam

• The secondary purpose of this seminar is to
  prepare you for the examination that follows.
• The exam consists of twenty-five questions.
• Once you have completed the exam, the
  Disinfection Agent will walk you through the
  questions you have missed and explain why.

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What is the Helpdesk Disinfection Service?

• This service is provided only as an educational
  service by the Valdosta State University
  Information Technology Helpdesk. You will, thus,
  need to be present for the entirety of the
  appointment.
• A Disinfection Agent will talk you through the
  downloading, installing, updating, and running of
  standard anti-malware software. The client will
  be asked to run the actions on their computers
  themselves as the Helpdesk will not actively
  initiate any of the programs.
• As this is not a technical repair service, the
  Disinfection Agent is not authorized to actually
  interact with a computer directly. Instead, he or
  she will be providing instructions only. If you
  need repair assistance from a technician, please
  contact the Valdosta State University Tech Shop
  in Langdale Hall at 229-219-1398.

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Helpdesk / Tech Shop Comparison

• Helpdesk
• Educational service
• The Disinfection Agent cannot touch your computer
• You must fulfill the requirements of the
  Disinfection Seminar
• Can only instruct in the use of standard
  anti-malware programs to correct the issue

• Tech Shop
• Technical repair service
• You may drop off the computer
• A fee will be assessed
• Can deal with other hardware and software issues
  and repair damage caused by malware

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What is Malware?

• To begin learning how to protect your computer,
  you must first have some background understanding
  of the potential threats to your computer.
• Malware Malware (short for malicious
  software) is any type of software designed to be
  transmitted to a computer without the owners
  consent. It is designed to cause damage to or
  steal information from the owners computer.

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What can malware do to my computer?

• Malware infections can
• Damage the functionality of hardware and
  software.
• Slow down your computer or Internet connection.
• Prevent a computer from connecting to the
  Internet.
• Compromise confidential or private information.
• Cause your computer to be quarantined from campus
  services such as the Valdosta State University
  wireless network, Hallnet.
• Spread these infections to other computers on the
  network.

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What Types of Malware Exist?

• Viruses Viruses spread through data transferred
  from an infected computer either by across a
  computer network or using a physical source such
  as a floppy disk or CD-ROM.
• Worms Worms are similar to viruses, but does
  not require user interaction to spread.
• Trojan Horses Trojan horses appear as
  legitimate files, but when opened, infect a
  computer. They often reside in files downloaded
  from the Internet or e-mail attachments.
• Spyware Spyware infections collect data from a
  computer without the owners consent.
• Adware Adware infections display advertising in
  various forms, such as pop-ups, on a computer
  without the owners consent.

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How do I Protect my Computer?
Protection and removal software alone is NOT
enough to protect your computer, as even the most
reputable protection can be bypassed or disabled.
The best form of protection comes from developing
a strong understanding and good habits when
accessing information resources such as the
Internet and e-mail.

• Protection software
• Keep an updated personal firewall.
• Keep your antivirus and spyware removal software
  updated.
• Run your antivirus and spyware removal software
  regularly.

• Good habits
• Avoid peer-to-peer file sharing software.
• Do not open suspicious e-mails or attachments.
• Only visit trusted web sites.
• Do not interact with online advertisements.
• Avoid rogue anti-malware programs.

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Personal Firewall

• PC-cillin is verified to be compatible with
  Valdosta State University Services including
• Registration and Advising
• The wireless network
• Online classes
• Campus e-mail

• Personal Firewall - A personal firewall is a
  program that is installed on your computer to
  prevent intrusions from programs and other
  computers.
• Valdosta State University recommends PC-cillin, a
  package including both a personal firewall and
  antivirus software.

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Antivirus

• Antivirus - Antivirus software is used to detect
  and deal with viruses, worms, and Trojan horses.
  This is normally done by removing the infection
  from the file, but if this action fails, the
  antivirus software may quarantine or delete the
  infected files to prevent the infection from
  spreading to other files.
• Once again, Valdosta State University recommends
  the use of PC-cillin.

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PC-cillin Assistance

• For instructions on how to download, install, run
  and update PC-cillin visit the Anti-Virus and
  Spyware page.

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Anti-Spyware

• Anti-Spyware Anti-Spyware software is used to
  detect, clean, and prevent spyware and adware
  programs from infecting your computer.
  Anti-Spyware programs clean your computer by
  removing infected files and, in some cases, by
  preventing the files from being downloaded in the
  first place.
• Valdosta State University recommends using
  Windows Defender, Spybot Search Destroy, and
  Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal.

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Anti-Spyware Assistance

• For instructions on how to download, install, run
  and update Spybot Search Destroy, Windows
  Defender, and Ad-Aware SE Personal visit the
  Anti-Virus and Spyware page.

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What is Peer-to-Peer file-sharing?

• Peer-to-Peer file-sharing involves the use of
  software that allows you to download from other
  users on the network, rather than from a trusted
  source. Peer-to-peer file-sharing is the most
  common source of malware infections, as it is
  impossible to either verify whether the files are
  authentic and unmodified or to track down the
  source of the file.

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Avoid Peer-to-Peer Software

• Peer-to-Peer software is one of the most
  prevalent ways that malware spreads.
• As you cannot verify the legitimacy of the
  download, you cannot tell if the download has
  been tampered with to include malware.
• It is best to avoid downloading anything from
  Peer-to-Peer software.
• Examples of Peer-to-Peer software include
  Limewire, Kazaa, Bearshare, and any BitTorrent
  client.

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Suspicious Emails and Attachments

• Suspicious emails or attachments are another
  prevalent way that malware spreads. Emails are
  also another way online scams spread.
• If you receive any email from an address you
  dont recognize be careful if you open it. Do not
  open any attachments or click on any links in the
  email until you have verified that the email is
  genuine and not a threat.

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Only Visit Trusted Websites

• There are multitudes of websites that anybody can
  visit. You should always be alert to what
  websites you browse.
• When downloading programs download directly from
  that companies website instead of someones
  personal website as you do not know if that
  person has tampered with the program.

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Do Not Interact With Online Advertisements

• If you get any online advertisements do not close
  it by clicking close or cancel in the
  advertisement as this could allow malware to
  infect your computer.
• Instead close the pop-up by clicking on the close
  X button in the top right hand corner of the
  pop-up.
• If there is no close X button hit Alt F4
  buttons.

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Rogue Anti-Malware Programs

• Rogue anti-malware programs claim to be
  anti-virus/spyware programs but are really
  malware in themselves.
• These are usually installed by the user clicking
  on a pop-up saying that their computer is
  infected or the user is looking for anti-malware
  software and mistakenly downloads a rogue one.
• These programs will continually tell the user
  that they are infected with malware and that the
  user should buy their product to remove the
  malware. These programs are nothing more than a
  scam and buying the program will not remove the
  rogue program, nor will it remove any actual
  spyware on the computer.

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Your Appointment

• When you come in for your Disinfection
  appointment, you will take a 25 question test
  which you must pass before a Disinfection
  Technician can assist you in any further actions
  at your computer.
• After you have passed the test and completed your
  disinfection you should have the tools and
  knowledge to keep your computer clean.