A number of tools are available that are useful at various stages of an investigattion:

• Sophos Anti-Virus
• Sophos Root Kit Detector
• F-Secure Blacklight
• GMER
• SysInternals Rootkit Revealer
• Cornell Spider. Follow the links below for specific instructions on using Cornell Spider on your machine.
  • Cornell Spider for Linux
  • Cornell Spider for Macintosh
  • Cornell Spider for Windows

Click the link to find out more about any of these tools.

Not all infected computers will require full-scale forensic examination by the University Information Security Office. Systems unlikely to contain Level 1 protected data will not require preemptive forensics work, which involves the removal of the physical machine to a separate facility for detailed investigation. For security reasons, we can't go into any further details about what happens after that.

Unfortunately, the weakest link in the information security chain is usually human rather than software driven. Did you share your password with anyone? Have you let someone else use your computer? Do you recall downloading and installing software that looked useful but didn't come through official channels? Any one of these or many other types of behavior can cause or enable a breach in the security of your system. Make sure you follow HSU's Top 10 Security Measures to keep your computer secure.

Not directly, no. The Technology Help Desk cannot legally do hands-on work on equipment that's not owned by the University. However, we can refer you to an appropriately-qualified local service establishment who can take care of the issue for you.

Anyone getting past the protection layers on the HSU network would be able to access all the tools necessary to go on an identity theft spree. That''s not something anyone wants to have to deal with, and it is a federal crime to steal personally-identifiable information.