FREE Student Anti Virus Software

Current students are entitled to 1 free copy of the Sophos AntiVirus software. Logon to the Wildcat Connection and click on the "Sophos Antivirus" link to download the package. Be sure to uninstall your previous anti-virus software prior to installing Sophos. You must be online during the setup process to successfully install this program.

Anti-virus and Definition Files

We strongly encourage you to install anti-virus software, and keep it updated. Definition files can be set to update automatically or manually. You will need to update them once a week in order to keep your anti-virus protection effective. Anti-virus software is a great way to protect your computer system.

We recommend Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, and Microsoft Security Essentials.

If you desire a free anti-virus product, we recommend using Avast. AVG and Bitdefender also offer a feature-limited free version.

Remember: If your computer is spreading viruses, your internet access will be disabled.

What is a virus?

A virus is a computer program that can copy itself to a computer without a user's permission or knowledge. Once a virus infects a host, it can do anything that any other program on that computer is capable of doing.

There are several types of viruses, or more properly, there are several 'flavors' of malicious program that are generally referred to as a 'virus'. Here are the major types and the differences between them:

Virus - Can only be spread when it's host is taken to an uninfected computer, for example when an infected file is sent over the internet or on a disk to another person's computer

Worm - Similar to a virus, but is self-replicating. They can spread without user intervention through insecure networks and other mediums.

Trojan Horse - A trojan horse does not infect other programs or files, but instead appears to be a useful program. Trojan horses are harmless until opened, at which point any number of things can happen ranging from a practical joke to complete data loss.

Why does CWU care if my computer has antivirus protection?

It is imperative that all computers on the campus network have current antivirus software. Not only does a virus affect the insecure computer, it threatens all computers on the network and computers that communicate with the network.