Viruses can result in the loss of your
work. Scanning is quick and
simple. Don’t forget to scan your
floppies every time you use them.Viruses are malicious computer programs that can damage work irrecoverably if not detected in time. There are approximately five and a half thousand different viruses known, of which the two most common currently are Word and Excel macro viruses.
The Sweep virus scanner is already installed on all public workstations and members of the university are also entitled to obtain a copy for use on their own PCs.
It is essential that you get into the habit of always scanning your floppy disks for viruses before using them either in public workstations or your own PC.
Viruses can result in the loss of your
work. Scanning is quick and
simple. Don’t forget to scan your
floppies every time you use them.
The hard drives of the public workstations are scanned for viruses automatically every 24 hours. This takes place in the early hours of the morning, when the machines are less likely to be in use, but it will not affect you if you happen to be working at that time. The process runs in the background and takes only a few minutes.
Scanning floppy disks and your M: drive is your responsibility, and you do it using the Sweep virus scanner.
Double click with the left mouse button on
the Sophos Sweep icon on the Desktop.
You may see the opening screen as it updates itself, or it may open directly. This is the dialogue box you will see;
Put your floppy disk into the A: drive and double click the left
mouse button on the A: drive icon.
This is the simplest way to scan the floppy disk.
You should see a message telling you that the disk is clear. If a virus is detected, an option box will appear on the screen offering you the opportunity to disinfect the disk, thus removing the virus.
Select Yes
by clicking on it with the left mouse button or pressing Enter and Sweep will automatically remove the virus from the disk.
To scan your M: drive open up Sophos Sweep and double click on the M: drive icon. This will then scan your M: drive and warn you if it finds a virus, again make sure you select Yes to disinfect any viruses found.