A variety of threats to a wide range of computing devices from client computers to PDA’s (Palms, Pocket PC’s, Blackberries, etc.) to servers are increasing in both number and complexity. Viruses are no longer alone, but have been joined by worms, trojans, adware, and spyware, as well as the growing nuisance of spam. Personal responsibility for protecting your computer and files has increased along with these threats. Please review the following information (and the threat specific pages linked in the left menu) to learn safe computing practices and how to remove these threats.
 
Virus Information

Viruses and worms can be spread via disks, CDs, USB drives, network shares, email, instant messaging, web pages, and downloads. To reduce the potentially devastating impact of viruses, Hampshire College requires the installation of active and up-to-date anti-virus software on all student, faculty, and staff computers that use the College’s network. Users who do not have active, up-to-date anti-virus software may be restricted from accessing resources on the network. Please see the Virus Protection and Prevention page linked on the left.
 
Spam

Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE), commonly referred to as "spam," has been a big problem for many users. From having to wade through dozens of junk messages to receiving emails with embarrassing content, spam is a headache. For information about Spam Filtering and Tips for Avoiding Spam, see the Spam Filtering page linked on the left.

Popup Ads and Windows

Few things can slow down Internet surfing more than Popup ad pages. Newer browsers now include popup blocking within the application. For other browsers, there are add-on tools that can be installed to block popups as you surf. See the Popup Ads and Windows page to learn how to use pop up blockers.

Phishing

Phishing is a new type of internet scam that uses email in an attempt to trick recipients into giving up their personal financial information. For information about Phishing and how to spot these scams, see the Phishing page linked on the left.

If you have any questions about computer security that have not been addressed here, please contact the help desk at 413.559.5418