The Division for Information Technology announced Wednesday a new strain of the virus MyDoom that has appeared on campus.
The first version of the MyDoom worm appeared Jan. 27, entering the system through e-mails with subject lines such as \error,"" ""status,"" ""hi"" and ""hello.""
The latest version of MyDoom has hit four computers at UW-Madison and is a mutated version of the first strain that spreads more quickly, making it difficult to use computers, DoIT communications manager Brian Rust said.
""The worm is also designed to bombard Microsoft's Web site with hits, as if you are continually going to that site,"" Rust said.
Students are reminded to take several precautions to shield their computers from the worm. Rust urged students to install the latest version of Norton AntiVirus available for free from the DoIT Tech Store or via the DoIT Web site.
""Every time there is a new strain of a virus, Norton AntiVirus comes out with a new fix for it called New Virus Definition,"" Rust said.
Window users who are also using Norton AntiVirus can change their settings so every time they connect to the Internet, AntiVirus will check for new virus definitions and install the automatic update, Rust said.
If students' computers become infected, DoIT will notify the students, then isolate the source by taking them off the UW-Madison campus network until they disinfect their machines with Norton, Rust said.
""DoIT assures students and staff that the four computers affected on campus have been taken off the network and disinfected,"" said Bill Scheuerell, director of DoIT Enterprise Internet Services.
Aside from the virus, Microsoft representatives noted Tuesday another vulnerability, or ""hole,"" to all Microsoft Windows users. The hole allows hackers to get access to a computer and take over the desktop, Rust said. To combat this problem students can install Windows patches, available through the DoIT or Microsoft's Web site.
""Generally we don't have problems at UW-Madison because we try to take care of the problem at the point of entry,"" Scheuerell said.
