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VCOM Campus

Security and Spyware

PC Security and Spyware Protection

We also suggest that you keep your computer up-to-date with the latest Microsoft Windows® updates. These individual security updates are released by Microsoft as soon as they are available to fix security holes/bugs that might be found in the Operating System.

To access and configure the Microsoft Windows update settings:

Spyware

VCOM ITS recommends that you have some sort of spyware protection installed on your computer. Windows 8.1 and higher comes with Windows Defender pre-installed. You can install a program of your choice if you feel this does not fit your needs. Regardless of your preference of a spyware solution, PLEASE make sure that you have something protecting your computer. Repairing an infected computer can be quite time consuming, thus your computer will be out of commission until the issue can be resolved. So by being proactive you may reduce the length of time it takes to be productive again.

VCOM ITS recommends that a secondary Adware/Spyware solution be installed on your PC, as we do to our Faculty and Staff machines. Should you choose to use something in addition to Windows Defender, a free program we recommend is:

Avoiding Viruses

At VCOM, we do have measures in place on the mail server to help with the influx of viruses. It never hurts to be cautious when you receive an e-mail with an attachment from someone you don’t know. The best advice is:

  • If you do not know the user, do not open the attachment
  • If you know the user, but were not expecting an attachment from them or if they have never sent you an attachment, then do not open the attachment

Virus creators are becoming more creative in tricking users into opening their infected attachments thus enabling their creation to continue to gain in popularity.

Virus Hoaxes

Some viruses are hoaxes, a fake virus that does not exist but is reported as a real virus to excite people. Below are some sites that have good information on hoaxes: