Anti-virus Software for Students
The University of Toronto strongly recommends you have antivirus software on your computer. Antivirus software is available both commercially and free of charge.
Before downloading any free antivirus software, be sure the software package and the source from which you download it are reputable. One example of a reputable source is cnet, although there are other sources that are equally as reputable.
Windows
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free download from Microsoft that has been evaluated by the Information Commons Help Desk and is our current recommendation.
Note: Before downloading Microsoft Security Essentials, be sure that Javascript is enabled or temporarily allowed for this web page.
Macintosh
The Information Commons Help Desk does not have a specific recommendation for Macintosh users at this time, but a couple of free antivirus products for Mac are Sophos and iAntiVirus. cnet lists some other options, and About.com has an article about The Best Mac Antivirus Software which provides some more detailed information.
Practice Safe Computing
New viruses are appearing constantly. Keep on top of your computer's security:
- update antivirus definitions regularly as well as your operating system, web browsers, plugins, etc .Of particular importance is maintaining up-to-date versions of Adobe Flash and Reader.
- be aware of the ways in which your computer's security could be compromised so you can avoid them (see the Help Desk article "Avoiding Email Fraud" to start)
- back up important data (using external or online storage)
Support: Where to Get Help
If you have any questions about using antivirus software, call the Information Commons Help Desk – help.desk@utoronto.ca, 416-978-HELP (4357). (For faster service, please include your Library number and UTORid with your question).