I would like to bring to your attention the recent activity of a computer worm that is currently making its way around the Internet and has attacked several computers at Temple University.  A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program, similar to a computer virus. While a virus attaches itself to, and becomes part of, an executable program that is already on your computer, a worm is totally self-contained and does not need to be part of another program to attack your computer and propagate
itself.

This new worm is called W32.Spybot and is designed to invade your computer and send your personal information out over the Internet.  The worm and its variants take advantage of several different Microsoft vulnerabilities which we warned about in a recent correspondence. The latest variant exploits a part of the Microsoft Windows operating system known as the Plug and Play Buffer.

Periodically, Microsoft issues system patches to correct security vulnerabilities found in the Windows operating system. If your computer has the latest Windows security patches, you are protected from infection. All of the Temple computers involved in the worm attack were not properly updated with the Microsoft patches.

In order to minimize the University's exposure to this worm and any future malicious code, it is imperative that you keep your Windows operating system properly updated. If you are using a computer with a Microsoft Operating System, we strongly urge you to turn on your Windows Automatic Update feature if you have not already done so. This will ensure that the latest security patches are automatically downloaded and installed on your computer. Our Computer Services Help Desk (215 204-8000) is ready to assist you with this issue, or visit our Web site for easy-to-follow instructions at:

www.temple.edu/cs/windowsupdateinstructions.htm

In addition to detecting and preventing the spread of computer viruses, our Symantec AntiVirus servers also provide protection against computer worms. The servers have all been updated with the latest definition files which include detection of the new W32.Spybot worm. Your Symantec Live Update feature will ensure that your computer is protected by these latest definition files. 

By taking the necessary steps to protect your computer, you can help us to greatly reduce our susceptibility to serious virus and worm outbreaks that are capable of crippling our network and computing resources.  Make sure that your computer is properly protected with Symantec AntiVirus, and that you have turned on the Automatic Windows Update feature. With your help, we can better serve the University community by providing the safe and secure computing resources needed to provide our students with a quality education.

As always, Computer Services will continue to look for ways to provide better security and privacy to our University Community. For more information on Computer Security, please visit our Web site at:

www.temple.edu/cs/security/index.htm

Happy and Safe Computing.