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Two students check e-mail and do homework by using computers in the Student Learning Center. EITS offers free spyware and anti-virus protection software for students. Other programs - Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop and Office - are available for a discounted student price.

Free software given to help students

By: VINCE HAMPTON

Posted: 8/7/08

Although college campuses are known for computer viruses, the Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS) offers free protection for students and makes some normally expensive programs affordable.

Malicious Software (Malware) such as viruses and spyware damage computers and can put the sensitive information they may contain at risk.

With a UGA MyID several types of free virus and spyware protection is available through the Student Technology Support (STS) Web site, http://sts.uga.edu.

F-Secure, an anti-virus program that can be updated, not only scans and removes viruses but also provides a firewall to keep future infections to a minimum.

"F-Secure Internet Security is a full-featured product with both anti-virus and anti-spyware protection," said Ben Myers, an information security specialist with EITS. "It is comparable to similar packages such as Norton and McAfee."

Other similar programs include Spybot Search and Destroy and Ad-Aware. For additional assistance with a computer infection, there is a virus and spyware removal service located on the east wing of the third floor in the Student Learning Center.

According to IT specialists at EITS, file sharing software provide the most common route for viruses and spyware to end up on student computers. The software itself may be infected, or files shared through it may be encoded with malicious programs.

Besides using protective software, Myer also advises students to back up data routinely to avoid losing it.

In addition to viruses, a growing threat to Internet security is a scam known as phishing.

"The way it works is someone creates an e-mail claiming to be the UGA e-mail department and saying either the system is getting updated or they are removing unused accounts," said John Gorzynski, an IT security analyst at EITS.

The message will ask for personal information, which, if given out, could lead to identity theft.

To help educate the University community, this fall faculty, staff and student staff members will be required to complete a brief online course in computer security through a risk management model called SecureUGA.

The model is a collection of exercises designed to train faculty and staff to protect the sensitive information they may have on their computers.

Although students do not have to take the course, Albert DeSimone, University communications officer, encourages them to.

"Students are certainly invited to take the modules, and I believe they will benefit greatly from the modules," DeSimone said.

The STS Web site also offers alternative web browsers to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, including Firefox, Opera, Safari and Netscape. Each has specific features that meet the needs of different users.

Brand-name media and word processing software, including Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop Extended and Office Enterprise 2007, are also offered at a discounted price.