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Apply today’s Microsoft security patches ASAP

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

Since today (July 14) is the second Tuesday of the month, Microsoft is releasing its usual monthly security patches for the Windows operating system and select Microsoft applications. While it is always important to apply these and other security patches as soon as possible, it’s particularly important this month because at least two of the six patches fix vulnerabilities that are being actively exploited.

One of the patches fixes a critical vulnerability in the Microsoft Video ActiveX Control that has often been in the security news in the past week. Nearly 1,000 websites in China are known to be infected with a malicious script that exploits this vulnerability. Continue reading “Apply today’s Microsoft security patches ASAP” →

Trend Micro Web Reputation Services enabled to help battle malware infections

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

To assist in the battle against malware that daily threatens K-State computers, Web Reputation Services (WRS), also known as “Web Threat Protection Services”, was enabled last week in K-State’s Trend Micro OfficeScan for those managed by the central IT Trend Micro server. WRS augments the antivirus and antispyware protection already offered in OfficeScan to add another layer of prevention against the rapidly evolving, increasingly sophisticated, quickly spreading, and growing number of malicious threats faced by K-Staters as they browse the Internet.

Web Reputation Services works by checking every web address you attempt to visit in a web browser and blocking access to those found in a list of known malicious sites. WRS works with all major web browsers, including Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Continue reading “Trend Micro Web Reputation Services enabled to help battle malware infections” →

IT Security Roundtable Friday, Feb. 13: New malware threats

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

The next IT security roundtable will be 9-10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 13, in Union 213 on how people are dealing with new malware threats being battled at K-State. This roundtable will be entirely a discussion format with no formal presentation. Join us to share your experiences with, and questions about, dealing with the likes of Antivirus 2009, malicious links in Google search results, and other puzzling infections seen at K-State lately.

Continue reading “IT Security Roundtable Friday, Feb. 13: New malware threats” →

Digital grinches try to steal holiday joy

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

While Santa was busy spreading holiday cheer and most K-Staters were enjoying a welcomed break, evil grinch hackers were busy trying to rob people of their digital happiness:

XP Antivirus 2008 malware difficult to remove; requires reformat/reinstall

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

If your computer gets infected with the malicious program “XP Antivirus 2008” or one of its variants, you must reformat the hard drive(s) and reinstall all software and data before returning the computer to service and using it on K-State’s campus network. The criminals responsible for this malware are primarily trying to trick people into sending them money under the guise of buying software to clean up an “infected” computer.  However, K-State has seen several instances where other types of malware get installed at the same time as XP Antivirus 2008, including backdoor trojans and software that uses the computer to send thousands of spam messages. Continue reading “XP Antivirus 2008 malware difficult to remove; requires reformat/reinstall” →

Five things you should know about IT security at K-State

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

With the return of tens of thousands of students and arrival of thousands of new students, faculty, and staff, everyone needs to be reminded of the importance of protecting K-State’s information and technology resources. Here are five things about IT security that individuals need to be aware of as the semester begins:

  1. Never give your password to anyone in an e-mail message. Numerous different scam e-mails have been sent to K-Staters over the last eight months trying to trick people into replying with their eID password.  K-State IT support staff will never ask for your password in an e-mail, nor will any legitimate business or organization. If you get such an e-mail, just delete it.

    2. Continue reading “Five things you should know about IT security at K-State” →

Don’t fall for “Antivirus 2008 XP” rogue software!

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

In the last week, four computers in one K-State department were compromised and used to send massive amounts of spam to recipients all over the world. Likewise, I was contacted by a K-State employee who had warning messages pop up repeatedly on her home computer telling her the computer was infected and she needed to purchase special software to fix it. The common denominator in all five cases is rogue anti-spyware software called “Antivirus 2008 XP” (aka “Antivirus XP 2008”) that’s making the rounds on the Internet. Continue reading “Don’t fall for “Antivirus 2008 XP” rogue software!” →