Malware is any malicious software that can find its way onto your computer. Malware can be viruses, spyware, adware, worms and more. The best way to prevent your computer from being infected with malware is to be well-informed about the dangers. The next step is to keep updated copies of anti-malware software installed on your computer and to run them regularly.

While it’s true that Macs are less susceptible to malware than Windows PCs, it is important to remember that all computers can spread
malware on the Washington College network. 
We use and recommend Microsoft Security Essentials to protect Windows computers, Windows Defender on Windows 10 computers. We also use and recommend Malwarebytes to monitor and prevent threats on your computer.

For Apple machines, we recommend keeping your operating system and other Mac programs up to date using the Mac App store. This ensures your Mac has the latest security updates.

Accounts can become compromised in many ways; the most common is through phishing attempts in which the user is asked for their account credentials by what appears to the be an official school department (IT, Human Resources, etc.) for some reason. Other ways an account can become compromised is by contact with unsafe websites, downloading of infected data (programs, music, movies, etc.).

Please remember we will never request your full log in credentials and they should never be provided to anyone for any reason.