This is to provide information about a virus problem in our labs on campus. The virus known as VBS.Runauto, also dubbed “I Am A Friend”, replaces desktop wallpaper and screen saver with the words Don’t Worry, I Am A Friend.
This virus has been particularly challenging to eradicate. When first reported, we had investigated and believed we had addressed the issue. We recently discovered that our work had reduced its occurrence, but it was still at large. Extensive research and testing with Symantec, our antivirus program, revealed that Symantec did not have a block for this particular virus. We worked closely with them and, as of this morning, they have provided us with a means for detecting this virus automatically and removing it. We are the first to report this to them and they responded very quickly to our submission.
In addition, we know that disabling Auto Run in Windows prevents the spread of the virus from USB drives to computers and vice versa. While many of the computers in the labs have Auto Run disabled, we have discovered that the setting was not deployed successfully to all of them. We are working aggressively to address that and expect that, after this weekend’s imaging process, all the lab machines should have the configuration set.
The Help Desk and lab consultants have been instructed on removal of the virus from computers and flash drives and are available for assistance. I encourage you to seek their assistance if you are unsure if your personal computer or USB drive has been affected.
