Antivirus Information
Antivirus software is virtually a must have in today's computing environment.But what is a virus?
Viruses are part of a larger category of software known as 'malware' in the modern lexicon. Malware is comprised of various sub-classes of software that includes, but is not limited to: viruses, trojan horses, backdoors, logic bombs, worms, root kits, boot kits, botnets, spyware, and many more. In short, malware is any software that is installed and/or performs an action on the user's device without that user's knowledge or consent.
While their exact origin can be debated, malware has a long history dating back to some of the earliest days of computer usage. 1971's "Creeper" virus is often credited as being the first computer virus. The Creeper virus is reported to have been contained to the laboratory in which it was developed. In 1981 or 1982, the "Elk Cloner" virus was written and is often credited with being the first virus to affect the micro computer class market. The Elk Cloner virus affected the Apple II/Apple DOS 3.3 operating system and was propagated via floppy disk. In 1988, the "Morris Worm" was written and escaped from MIT and has earned the common distinction as being the first true self replicating internet worm. Shortly thereafter in 1990, the Symantec Corporation bought a small company 'Peter Norton Computing, Inc.' and Norton AntiVirus was born. That same year McAfee released McAfee VirusScan. These two software packages are some of the first commercial antivirus/antimalware applications and are still available and in active development today.
With a history of nearly twenty years and the constant and daily development of new threats, antivirus/anti-malware detection and removal is here to stay.
UT Arlington owned assets capable of running security software and all personally owned devices that are connected to the UT Arlington network are required to be equipped with antivirus/anti-malware software.
The approved and supported antivirus/anti-malware solution for Windows based desktops is Microsoft Forefront Security Client (FCS). To obtain the software please visit the web site, www.uta.edu/antivirus.
The approved and supported antivirus/anti-malware solution for Apple Macintosh desktops is ClamXav. To obtain the software see the website, www.clamxav.com.
The approved and supported antivirus/anti-malware solution for server class devices is Eset Nod32. To obtain the software contact the Information Security Office (ISO) at security@uta.edu.
For more information or assistance with above mentioned antivirus/anti-malware software pacakages contact the UT Arlington Helpdesk by email at helpdesk@uta.edu or by phone 817.272.2208.