Responsible Division: Center for Information Technology Services
Responsible Office: Center for Information Technology Services
Issue/Revision Date: September 8, 2017

Summary

This policy is designed to help prevent infection of Alcorn State University computers, networks, and technology systems by computer viruses and other malicious code. This policy is intended to help prevent damage to user applications, data, files, and hardware.

Policy Statement

  1. All computing devices (e.g., desktop/laptop computers) connected to the Alcorn State University network or networked resources shall have anti-virus software installed and configured so that the virus definition files are current, routinely and automatically updated. The anti-virus software must be actively running on these devices.
  2. All computers owned by the University and used by faculty and staff must have the most recent version of anti-virus provided by the University installed.
  3. All PC’s are to be configured such that they schedule regular operating system updates as provided by the vendor (e.g., Windows updates).
  4. Macintosh systems are to be configured to schedule regular updates from the software manufacturer (Apple security updates).
  5. All files on computer devices will be scanned periodically for viruses.
  6. If deemed necessary to prevent propagation to other networked devices or detrimental effects to the network or data, an infected computer device may be disconnected from the University network – with or without notice – until the infection has been removed.
  7. Exceptions to this policy may be allowed if a computer device cannot have anti-virus software installed. Possible examples of this would be vendor-controlled systems, or devices where anti-virus software has not yet been developed. In these cases, a plan must be developed to allow the computer device to be taken off-line and the infection purged while protecting the function of the device.

Responsibility

The University provides anti-virus/anti-malware software to faculty and staff members free of charge. Students can request links to approved, free anti-virus/anti-malware software.

Enforcement

When infected computers are discovered through routine scanning processes, or reported to CITS, managers/owners will be given until 5 p.m. that day to correct the problem or remove the computer from the network. CITS will remove network access if the problem has not been corrected and reserves the right to remove any infected computer at any time should the security of University data or networks be compromised.

Any person found to have violated this policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action as defined by current University policy, student code of conduct, and/or collective bargaining agreements. This policy will not supersede any Alcorn State University-developed policies but may introduce more stringent requirements than the University policy.

Contact Information

-For installation, please contact the CITS Helpdesk at: (601) 877-6182