Malware, or malicious software, can take many forms.  You may have heard the following used to describe malware: viruses, trojans, worms, rootkits, backdoors, spyware, adware, grayware, botnets, keystroke loggers and a few more.

Despite regular signature updates, anti-virus products have had a poor "catch-rate" when it comes to the fast moving and agile threat of modern malware.  Today's malware has the ability to mutate or update to avoid detection by traditional products.  Even the best end point protection will occasionaly allow systems to become infected.

Information on the Universities chosen end-point security solution can be found here.

SPYWARE

Spyware is a type of malware that collects information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user and can be difficult to detect.  Spyware is often installed without the users knowledge.

More information on Spyware

DISABLE AUTO-RUN ON USB DEVICES

Removable USB drives use the Autorun feature to load files when the drives are first plugged into the USB port.  Some malware will exploit this feature to spread from the USB drive to the PC.  One method to protect against this is to disable the autorun feature on your system.  The following page has instrucations on how to turn off this feature.

How to Disable Auto-Run on Windows XP/Vista

POPULAR MALWARE REMOVAL TOOLS

WARNING:  The following are some tools that may be helpful in cleaning an infected system.  However, if used incorrectly you may make the situation worse.  It is always best to consult someone with experience in cleaning an infected system.  Often the removal becomes very difficult and the only solution is to format the system and reinstall the operating system and all programs.  Use these programs at your own risk and be sure to back up your system often.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware - http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

Spybot - Search & Destroy - http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html

ComboFix - http://www.combofix.org/

HijackThis - http://sourceforge.net/projects/hjt/

Various Kaspersky Virus Utilities and Removers - http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/utility

Flashback Removal Tool (MacOS X) - http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00002346.html