Virus and malware protection
- Michael Laurentius
Purpose
Malicious software, including viruses, worms, trojans, and malware, can corrupt or compromise your data, steal credentials and passwords, and impact the performance of your computer systems.
Audience
faculty researchers Admin staff IT staff students
On this page
Initial considerations
For individuals using University equipment or handling institutional data, please do not install or use products by Kaspersky Lab.
For individuals using University equipment, please do not install and/or use free tier third-party anti-virus/malware software. A suitable solution should be installed and managed for you.
SentinelOne Project
SentinelOne is a cross-platform, next-generation anti-virus solution available to various units across the University.
Please contact your local IT group to determine if you are eligible for a SentinelOne end-point protection license.
What can I do?
Install antivirus and antimalware software (end-point protection).
Ensure that your antivirus and antimalware software is up to date.
Windows
Microsoft Defender (included with Windows).
Install and/or enable Microsoft Defender.
Ensure that “real-time protection” is enabled.
Contact your local IT group for additional assistance.
MacOS
XProtect (included with MacOS).
Pre-installed, enabled, and updated by default.
Contact your local IT group for additional assistance.
Linux
Various options.
Contact your local IT group for additional assistance.
Common solution(s) include:
Android, iOS
For mobile devices, it is particularly important to:
Install an effective ad-blocker.
Keep your mobile operating system up to date.
Do not jailbreak or root devices. Do you use pirated software or side-load software from outside of the Google Play or Apple Store.
Be careful when granting permissions to mobile apps.
Avoid using untrusted software.
Do not install or use pirated software on devices with access to institutional data.
Do not sideload software onto mobile devices which bypass the Apple or Google Play Store, as they not subject to scans which flag potential harm.
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Additional help
General
Contact us | Information Security (IS)
Contact us | Information Technology (IT)
Researchers
Research Information Security - Information Security at University of Toronto
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