The Sasser worm, which hit the Towson University campus on Saturday, May 1, continues to infect Windows computers that are either not part of the TowsonU domain, are not up-to-date with Windows service patches, or have not been updated with the latest anti-virus files.
Unlike other recent viruses, Sasser is NOT spread by e-mail. If a computer is infected with the Sasser worm, it will be fairly obvious; affected computers reboot themselves spontaneously, typically displaying an error message indicating that the computer is about to shut down.
The Office of Technology Services (OTS) is working to identify those remaining systems that need to be updated and will, where possible, apply patches remotely and automatically. If your computer is infected as evidenced by intermittent rebooting, you can also clean and protect it yourself. To do so, please visit the new OTS Alerts forum at {http://alerts.towson.edu} and click on User Instructions for Combating Sasser Worm.
Individuals who use Windows computers to access the campus network from home should also make sure they have anti-virus software installed, along with up-to-date virus definitions. McAfee VirusScan is available at no cost to the Towson University community at {http://wwwnew.towson.edu/ots/faculty/downloads/virus.asp}. Please go to the site to ensure your software is up-to-date. As a good practice, set your anti-virus software to automatically check for updates daily. Users should also go to {http://www.windowsupdate.com} to get their machines patched.
Check the OTS Alerts page for further information. For questions, contact the OTS Help Center at 410-704-5151 or via e-mail at {helpcenter@towson.edu}.
