<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><img alt="NCSA_RecStaysafe_StaticBanner_wurl.jpg" id="38b26836-c0ca-4770-a3f2-b3494450d84e" height="80" width="640" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:33FE6A68-C18C-4720-A78B-BE495A6ADBB6@mit.edu"></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; ">October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, an annual campaign to highlight what each of us can do to protect our computers, data and privacy. </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; min-height: 16px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; ">This email is the second in a series of weekly tips. We hope they will be useful to you!</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; min-height: 16px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; "><b>Tip of the week: Malware Protection</b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; min-height: 16px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; ">Just as a cold and flu virus mutates over time, so do the various viruses, worms and other computer malware (malicious software) that can infect your machine. There were over 50 million variants in the wild last year! </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; min-height: 16px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; ">Malware is big business – there are infestations that record every keystroke you make, search for passwords and credit card numbers on your computer, or break into your address book and send spam to everyone there. Some even advertise themselves as anti-malware: you click on them, THEN your machine is infected, and soon messages appear telling you to pay to get your machine cleaned up. Suggested precautions:</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; min-height: 16px; "><br></div>
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<li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Run anti-virus software on your computer. You can use the McAfee products for free through Information Services & Technology (IS&T), or you can subscribe to a product on your own for a fee. Microsoft also has several free tools, such as Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials. </li>
<li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Ensure that your anti-malware software is running by checking your logs and updates regularly, especially if you hear of a significant new outbreak.</li>
<li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Accept the security updates for your operating system as well as the free software patches and updates for the software running on your machine, as they become available.</li>
<li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">If you get a message offering an anti-malware software update, make sure you know it is legitimate – a few minutes on the phone with your IT support staff can save you hours of aggravation.</li>
</ul><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; min-height: 16px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; ">If you need help with computer security settings, contact the IS&T Service Desk at 617-253-1101 or <a href="mailto:helpdesk@mit.edu">helpdesk@mit.edu</a>. For self-help, search the articles in Hermes, the IS&T knowledge base (<a href="http://kb.mit.edu">http://kb.mit.edu</a>).</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; min-height: 16px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; ">For more tips and resources, visit IS&T's Security website (<a href="http://ist.mit.edu/security">http://ist.mit.edu/security</a>) and Stay Safe Online (<a href="http://www.staysafeonline.org/">www.staysafeonline.org</a>).</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; min-height: 16px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; ">This campaign is supported by the IT Security Systems & Services team at MIT. Please contact us at <a href="mailto:security@mit.edu">security@mit.edu</a> if you have any questions, comments, or would like us to give a presentation to your department or group.</div><div><br></div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Lucida Grande'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br></span></font></span></font><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div><div>Monique Yeaton</div><div>IT Security Awareness Consultant</div><div>MIT Information Services & Technology (IS&T)</div><div>(617) 253-2715</div><div><a href="http://ist.mit.edu/security">http://ist.mit.edu/security</a></div><div><br></div><br></div></div><br></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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