We now offer free anti-virus protection to current students. Click here to learn more.

The purpose of this policy is to prevent network and virus related problems to computers and the network on ECnet. Viruses can disable or degrade the performance of the network.

This policy covers all computer and communication devices owned by students or visitors of Eckerd College.

Students using personal computers on ECnet MUST BE USING ACTIVE antivirus software installed and updated with current virus definitions. "Current definitions" are defined as virus protection definitions acquired from the software manufacturer not more than two weeks old.

Recommended software is either McAfee ViruScan or Symantec (Norton) Antivirus(paid subscription). A free anti virus  program besides Sophos is AVG Antivirus, which can be downloaded by typing the name into Google.

NOTE: If you are connecting a brand-new computer to ECnet, please be aware that most hardware providers (Dell, Compaq, Sony, etc.) will usually provide you with a 90-day trial version of one of the above antivirus software programs. After the initial 90-day trial period expires you will need to purchase the software. The purchase can be done online with a valid credit card or at a local electronics store.

As you a probably aware, new viruses are discovered almost every day. Following this policy will reduce the chance of you getting a computer virus affecting ECnet for the rest of the users, and/or having ITS remove your access to ECnet.

Spyware Information

Spyware(sometimes called adware) is any software program that installs itself and runs in the background of a computer while using an internet connection without the knowledge and/or permission of the user. Other related software which can do harm to your computer are known as Datamining, aggressive advertising, Parasites, Scumware, Keyloggers, selected traditional Trojans, Dialers, Malware, Browser hijackers, and tracking components.

Here are some programs which are known to install spyware programs:
BearShare - LimeWire - Kazaa - Grokster - and many more.

Some very common spyware programs to watch out for are:
Ezula - ATTune - Comet Cursor - Alexa - nCase - and many more.

Spyware can be removed by downloading, installing, and using spyware removal programs available from the internet or can be purchashed through a local retail store.Just like antivirus software, in order for a spyware removal tool to be effective the user must regularly check for and update the spyware definition files. Simply running the un-install program or removing known spyware from Add/Remove programs in Control Panel isn't enough.

ITS strongly recommends the use of free programs like Ad-Aware, Spybot, and Windows Defender for removing spyware. These programs are available through their respective web sites( do a Google search), or can be downloaded from either download.com or majorgeeks.com.