Increase in virus activity across campus

Over the past few weeks, the University of Warwick’s IT Services have reported an increase in virus activity on the computer machines across campus.

This spike in virus activity has been attributed to USB drives being used on different PCs. IT services are also noting other contributable factors such as unmanaged workstations with no anti-virus protection, as well as cases where the anti-virus software was switched off or their ‘updates’ option being disabled.

The engineers from the Xenon Service Point have identified one of the more common viruses to be a rogue antivirus known as ‘System Tools.’ They have also identified another virus known as the ‘Win 7 anti-virus 2011,’ which “seems to only affect Window 7 Series PCs.”

These computer viruses like any typical malware can affect the computer’s performance. According to Natasha, an undergraduate Law student, the virus had affected her anti-virus program considerably, even to the extent of removing it from her PC.

Emily, a Biological Sciences student had also discovered that her PC’s performance had slowed down drastically due to the overwhelming number of virus alerts. Both students recalled discovering the virus after utilizing the workstations available at Warwick University.

However, the extent of the virus activity may not be as extreme as they appear. Many staff members and students on the campus were reportedly unaware and unaffected by the virus activity across campus.

Nevertheless, as a measure against the spike in virus activity, IT Services urge students and staff members to ensure that their computers have current anti-virus software running. They also recommend that all USB drives and other external storage drivers are regularly scanned for viruses to minimize the spread and infection.