This article contains descriptions of common types of malware.
IF YOUR COMPUTER IS AFFECTED BY MALWARE, THE ONLY SURE WAY TO KNOW IT IS CLEAN OF MALWARE IS TO RELOAD THE OPERATING SYSTEM
- Viruses: A virus is a small piece of software that piggybacks on real programs. For example, a virus might attach itself to a program such as a spreadsheet program. Each time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs too, and it has the chance to reproduce (by attaching to other programs) or wreak havoc.
- Email viruses: An email virus moves around in email messages and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to dozens of people in the victim's email address book.
- Worms: A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine using the security hole, then starts replicating from there as well.
- Trojan Horses: A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game) but instead does damage when you run it (it may erase your hard disk). Trojans have no way to replicate automatically.
- Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUP's): Unwanted program that may or may not be malicious. The program was usually downloaded by the user, but they may not have realized it. PUP's will often slow down your computer, because they are running in the background when you start up your computer.
If your computer seems infected, the IT Service Desk offers hardware repair and OS reloading services, or you may want to consider another local repair service provider.
If you feel that your University A-Number account has been compromised in any way, please immediately:
1. Change your password (https://myid-deluxe.usu.edu)
2. Be warned that if you have recycled the same password on other websites, you should change the password for those as well
3. Update your Security Challenge Questions (https://myid-deluxe.usu.edu/challenge-questions)
4. Use a password manager (more info at https://usu.service-now.com/usu/kb_viewer.do?sysparm_article=KB0012417)
5. For Students: Consider changing your Security Phrase (https://myid-deluxe.usu.edu/security-phrase)
6. NEVER accept any MFA prompts you did not initiate
For further assistance, please contact your Department IT Support or the IT Service Desk