Virus information

You can obtain Sophos Anti-virus from the Brookes Sophos Download page.

Viruses are malicious pieces of software that are designed to replicate and spread. They can cause damage to files or excessive network and email traffic. Related viral programs include Worms, which are self-replicating, and Trojans which do not replicate and are designed to appear to be normal programs. Most anti-virus applications will detect and disinfect all types of viruses.

Sophos currently does not include detection for all type of malicious software (malware) that may pose a risk to your computer. You may need other applications to remove spyware and ad-ware from your computer. See our document How to deal with spyware.

Viruses can cause damage in many different ways including:

  • Damage personal and system files on your computer
  • Stealing passwords, credit details and other sensitive information and relaying them to a third party
  • Copying personal information such as email addresses and sending them to other parties
  • Hiding programs on your computer that inhibit legitimate programs
  • Use your computers resources for illegal activities (e.g. sending spam email, storing illegal documents)

Viruses can be very time consuming to remove after infection so it is highly recommended that you use anti-virus software as a preventative measure. After infection it is sometimes necessary to wipe the computer and reinstall all software on the computer from safe media so you should ensure that you take backups of important files regularly.

Anti-virus software

  • On-site
    All on-site university computers should be using Sophos. Staff whose computers are only used on-campus should not use the Sophos AutoUpdate package from these pages and should contact their IT support officer to arrange for installation of the correct package.

  • Off-site & HallNet
    Sophos AutoUpdate is available free of charge for use off-site and in halls of residence by Brookes staff and students with an internet connection. Sophos AutoUpdate can be configured to automatically retrieve the latest virus definitions and product updates to ensure that your computer is optimally protected. All HallNet users must use anti-virus software on their computers. Your access may be blocked if your computer becomes infected.
    You can view installation instructions and obtain Sophos AutoUpdate from the Brookes Sophos Download page.

Note: You should only ever have one anti-virus program in operation otherwise they may conflict and consume your computers resources. Any other products should be uninstalled prior to installing Sophos AutoUpdate.

Sophos AutoUpdate is available for the following systems:

 Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/7
Mac OS X (10.2+)

If you have any questions about the installation or require other versions of Sophos please contact the Help Desk for advice.

The Sophos web site provides plenty of useful information about viruses as well as spam and phishing avoidance.

Procedures for reporting viruses

  • Many virus reports are hoaxes so if you receive a suspicious email message about a virus, check the hoax virus list on the Sophos web pages before taking any further action.
  • If you think you have a virus on your office computer contact your IT support staff.
  • For any other virus problems send an email to virus-alert@brookes.ac.uk
  • Further information on viruses can be found at the main Sophos site including the Top 10 Viruses.

About Sophos anti-virus software

Sophos Anti-virus comprises of three components.

On-demand scanner

This is the component that you launch to run a scan of either your whole computer or selected files or folders (from the right-click menu). If any items are found to be infected you will be notified by a pop-up message and the files will be disinfected. If the disinfection fails the files will be quarantined (moved to a safe part of your computer where they can be stored until disinfection becomes possible, perhaps after Sophos updates the program).

On-access scanner

This is the component which will check files, email attachments and removable disks each time they are accessed. This procedure means that disks and files are always checked thoroughly, whenever they are used and if a problem is found they can be treated as Infected files similar to those found by the On-demand scanner.

AutoUpdate

This is a program that can automatically download and install new virus definitions, as well as updates to the Sophos software, as they become available. It is especially important to install new virus definitions regularly as these are the descriptions that Sophos uses to identify possible viruses on your computer. New viruses are discovered every day and protection against them can only be optimal if the latest definitions are installed.

Sophos Threat Analyses provides useful information about specific viruses.

Updates

In between scheduled monthly new releases Sophos also provide updates for particular viruses by IDE files (virus identification files). These can be downloaded automatically using Sophos AutoUpdate, or manually, to maximize virus protection. If you believe that you may have a virus that is not being detected by Sophos you can check their web page to see if there are any interim updates.

To help protect your computer it is recommenced that you regularly visit the Microsoft Windows Update website to ensure that the latest Microsoft updates are installed on your computer.