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UPDATED 02/24/09: Virus Recovery Progress
Created on: (02.17.09) Last modified: (05.05.09)


2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 Virus Recovery UPDATE 16

College Relations will no longer distribute regular virus recovery updates. Information Technology will send updates to all college employees on an as-needed basis.

RED TAG TO GREEN TAG CONVERSIONS:

Only 30-40 computers remain red tagged across campus. Visit http://glamdring:44078/default.aspx to view the list of red tagged computers and those that have been transitioned to green. Supervisors can alter the priorities within their departments by calling the Help Desk. If you or someone in your department has a red tagged computer that is not on the list, please call the Help Desk at Ext. 3280. The list of red tagged computers has been prioritized by managers and virus recovery teams are currently working on those machines to transition them to green tags. Those that cannot be recovered must be rebuilt at the Rebuild Center at the Help Desk, which is also currently taking place.

WRITE ACCESS TO SERVER:

As soon as the threat of reinfection is minimized by the conversion of red tagged computers to green tags, Information Technology will restore write access to the servers. A formal announcement from IT will be distributed campus wide when write access to Spock and Lemhi are restored, possibly later this week.

REMOVING GREEN TAGS:

Once write access to the servers is restored, IT will monitor server activity very closely to ensure that college computers are not reinfected. Once officials are sure that there is no longer a risk of reinfection, IT will disseminate an announcement allowing employees to remove the green tags from their machines.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

- What if I get a virus warning on my machine?

If you receive a virus warning from Microsoft Forefront and have any question about what to do, feel free to call the Help Desk. If you receive these warnings after running a virus scan or if one pops up when you’re using another application, it means the program is doing its job. Run the “Smart Clean” option on your computer. If you see the VIRUT extension on the virus, shut down your computer immediately and call the Help Desk at Ext. 3280.

- I have a green tagged computer, but some of my applications are still not working properly.

The virus affected how some applications operate making it necessary to repair or reinstall certain programs. If you have an application that is not working properly, call the Help Desk at Ext. 3280. A list is being formed to fix such issues on green tagged machines college wide.

Call the Help Desk with additional questions or issues at Ext. 3280 or res_helpdesk@nic.edu.

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11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 19

Virus Recovery UPDATE 15

Only one communication will be disseminated by email each day this week by email at 10:30 a.m. Updates are also being posted to the Information Technology website at www.nic.edu/compserv.

RED TAG TO GREEN TAG PROGRESS:

The Information Technology Department continues to focus on transitioning red tagged computers to green this week and is making great progress. Teams expect to have assessed all red tagged machines by the end of this week and hope to allow writable access to Spock by next week. Less than 100 computers college wide are still red tagged. The process for converting the machines from red to green varies. If the initial scan is unsuccessful, the computer will be labeled with a white tag and may have to be rebuilt. The Help Desk has now been converted to a Rebuild Center and is continuing to work on red tagged machines that need rebuilding.

LAPTOP SCANNING:

Now that calls to the Help Desk have slowed down, people are welcome to bring in red tagged laptops to be scanned. A scanning location for mobile media is still available at the Molstead Computer Lab as well.

Call the Help Desk with additional questions or issues at Ext. 3280 or res_helpdesk@nic.edu.

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10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18

Virus Recovery UPDATE 14

College Relations in collaboration with Information Technology

RED TAG TO GREEN TAG CONVERSIONS:

The Information Technology Department continues to focus on transitioning red tagged computers to green this week. Teams are spread across various buildings and 38 of the 222 red tagged computers on campus were changed to green tags yesterday. The process for converting the machines from red to green varies and is speeding up now that virus recovery teams have had early success and learned more about the tools and process.

GREEN TAGGED MACHINES:

Employees can use green tagged computers in every capacity as before the virus hit. If you are having trouble using specific applications or have other issues such as the warning message on the desktop, please contact the Help Desk at Ext. 3280 or res_helpdesk@nic.edu. Managers wishing to elevate specific red tagged computers on the priority list should call the Help Desk as well.

LAPTOP SCANNING:

Now that calls to the Help Desk have slowed down, people are welcome to bring in red tagged laptops to be scanned. Scanning locations for mobile media and laptops are still available at the Molstead Computer Lab as well.

COMMUNICATIONS:

Only one communication will be disseminated by email each day this week by email at 10:30 a.m. Updates are also being posted to the Information Technology website at www.nic.edu/compserv. Please share updates with coworkers and building mates when necessary.

Every college computer should have either a red or green tag attached to it. If you see a computer this week that does not have either a red or green tag, please contact the Help Desk at Ext. 3280 or res_helpdesk@nic.edu. If it doesn’t, it has been missed and should remain powered off until it is scanned by a virus recovery team member. Do not remove or move tags from computers.

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 13 POSTED: 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17

UNTAGGED MACHINES: Every college computer should have either a red or green tag attached to it. If you see a computer this week that does not have either a red or green tag, please contact the Help Desk at Ext. 3280 or res_helpdesk@nic.edu. If it does not, it has been missed and should remain powered off until it is scanned by a virus recovery team member. Do not remove of move tags from computers.

RED TAG TO GREEN TAG CONVERSIONS: Virus recovery teams successfully made it through each building on campus and to all of the college outreach locations last week, tagging computers either red or green. The current focus is on converting all red tagged computers to green tags. The Help Desk is now considered a Rebuild Center and virus recovery teams have been redeployed college wide to start turning red tagged computers to green. When a computer is red tagged, it does not necessarily mean that it is still virus infected or beyond repair. It simply means that the initial scan was not successful. Computers are red tagged for various reasons, the simplest of which is that the virus scanning process will not boot on the machine. At the other end of the spectrum, some machines will have to be completely rebuilt by the Information Technology Department. Because the time needed for these processes varies depending on the condition of the red tagged machines, it is unknown at this time how long it will take to convert the 222 red tagged computers of the 1,114 scanned across campus to green. More details on the prioritization of individual red tagged machines and the progress of the red tag to green tag conversions will be covered in Wednesday¡¯s update after virus recovery team members have assessed the red tagged machines college wide.

SCANNING LOCATIONS: Scanning locations are still available at the Help Desk and Molstead Computer Lab for all mobile media and college laptops used since Monday, Feb. 2. If you used a laptop or thumb drive during this time, please have it scanned at one of these locations. If students suspect they may have the virus on their personal laptop or mobile media device, they are welcome to have their equipment scanned at these locations as well.

WEEKEND SERVER SCANS: The college servers were scanned over the weekend as a precautionary measure to ensure that the servers were clean. The scans were successful and the college servers are safe and secure and protected from reinfection. Meanwhile, most of the Information Technology staff members that have been working hard on the virus recovery processes these past two weeks were able to get some much needed time off.

SPOCK UPDATE: Spock remains read only. Please create a folder on your desktop to save your files to. Once Spock allows write permissions, you can transfer your files over.

COMMUNICATIONS: Only one communication will be disseminated by email each day this week at 10:30 a.m. Since each building and almost each department has at least one green tagged machine, virus recovery updates will only be sent out by email. Updates are also being posted to the Information Technology website at www.nic.edu/compserv. Please share updates with coworkers and building mates when necessary.

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 12 POSTED: 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 13

These updates will be hand delivered only to those buildings that have not been visited by the virus recovery teams. If you¡¯re receiving this email, please share with your department and post to building doors if necessary.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE: On Sunday, Feb. 15, all of the server based Information Technology services will be unavailable. This includes Spock, Lemhi, NICOnline, printing services, and all other server based services. The services will be unavailable due to the Information Technology Department¡¯s efforts to solidify and double check the condition of each service. ¡ñ Molstead Computer Lab will be closed Sunday, Feb. 15 ¡ñ Molstead Library will be open, but services will be limited Sunday ¡ñ WebCT will still be available ¡ñ Webmail services will be periodically interrupted, but still available Check the Information Technology website at www.nic.edu/compserv over the weekend for additional updates. Continue to email the Help Desk at res_helpdesk@nic.edu with additional questions or concerns.

BUILDING PROGRESS: Virus recovery team members will progress through the last tier of the virus recovery schedule today. Tier 6 includes the Fort Sherman Officers¡¯ Quarters, the Residence Hall, the Children¡¯s Center, and the Industrial Arts Building. Teams are still finishing sweeps of Hedlund Building, the Workforce Training Center and other off-site locations, the non-Information Technology areas of Siebert Building, Winton Hall, and Post Hall.

If you see a computer on Tuesday, Feb. 17 without either a red or green tag, please contact the Help Desk at Ext. 3280 or res_helpdesk@nic.edu. Every college computer should have either a red or green tag attached to it. If it doesn¡¯t, it has been missed and should remain powered off until it is scanned by a virus recovery team member.

As of this morning, the total number of scanned machines is at 1,114 of the estimated 1,200 college computers. Of the scanned computers, 891 are now green tagged and 223 are red tagged.

RED LIGHTS ON PHONES: The Switchboard is currently operational. The phone system and voicemail systems are currently secure. However, problems with other systems are causing minor inconsistencies within the phone system. While the red light on your phone may not come on to notify you that you have voicemail, the voicemail system is still working. Employees should check their voicemail periodically through the day to see if they have voicemail.

RED TAG TO GREEN TAG CONVERSIONS: Beginning Tuesday, Feb. 17, the Help Desk will transform to a Rebuild Center and virus recovery teams will be redeployed to start turning red tagged computers to green. The teams are working on developing a process to accomplish this and have had early success. When this process doesn¡¯t work, red tagged computers must be rebuilt, which is more invasive and can take several hours. The teams hope to complete the process of converting red tagged computers to green by the end of next week.

COMMUNICATIONS: This will be the only update disseminated today. Regular updates on the virus recovery process will begin again Tuesday, Feb. 17.

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 11 POSTED: 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12

FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS: The next update will be posted at 10 a.m. Friday and will be the only communication for the day. These updates will be hand delivered only to those buildings who have not been visited by the virus recovery teams. If you¡¯re receiving this email, please share it with everyone in your department and post to the doors of your building if necessary.

GREEN TAGGED COMPUTERS: When a computer is green tagged it means that it is safe and protected. It may not be functioning perfectly however, as certain applications may still have to be restored. If you¡¯re having problems with specific applications, email the Help Desk at res_helpdesk@nic.edu. Those applications will be added to a list to be restored after initial sweeps and red tag to green tag conversions are complete.

STUDENT COMPUTERS: More students have been bringing in laptops and thumb drives to be scanned and the Information Technology Department still has not seen a student computer with the VIRUT.bm or VIRUT.bh virus. If a student has reason to believe their computer may be infected with the virus, please have them call the Help Desk at Ext. 3280 and they will walk through all the possible paths that they may have contracted the virus and possibly assess their computers with a scan. Students are encouraged to bring thumb drives or other mobile media to the Help Desk in Siebert Building or to the scanning station in the Molstead Library Computer Lab.

BUILDING PROGRESS: Virus recovery team members progressed to tier 5 of the schedule and are expected to make it to the last tier tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 13. The virus recovery teams are working on developing a plan for converting red tagged computers to green tags and have found success already with several machines. News regarding the status of computers being scanned is positive. Today, the total number of scanned machines went from 852 to 902. Of those, 696 are now green tagged and 206 are red tagged (up only four from this morning).

The Information Technology Department is considering altering work schedules through the holiday weekend. Watch tomorrow¡¯s update for the ways that this schedule may impact college operations.

SCANNING LOCATIONS: If you used any mobile media sources since Monday, Feb. 2, please have the mobile media scanned for the virus either at the Help Desk or the Molstead Library Computer Lab.

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 10 POSTED: 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS: The next update will be posted at 3 p.m. Today¡¯s communication will be hand delivered only to those buildings who have not been visited by the virus recovery teams. If you¡¯re receiving this email, please share it with everyone in your department and post to the doors of your building if necessary.

STUDENT ISSUES: The Molstead Library Computer Lab, the Meyer Health and Sciences Building Room 143, Lee Hall Annex Language Lab and the Writing Center are computer labs available for student use. In addition, the Testing Center and the McLain Flexible Learning Center are currently functional. WEBCT is continuing to function for college Internet classes. The WEBCT server is located off site and has not been affected by the virus outbreak. NICMail and NIC email has not been affected either.

BUILDING SWEEPS: The seven virus recovery teams are expected to continue work on Seiter Hall, Kildow Hall, the River Building, Boswell Hall, Hedlund Building, Siebert Building, and the Silver Valley Center today. Post Hall and Winton Hall are expected to be visited later today. Other buildings will be visited as progress is made through the virus recovery schedule. A total of 852 computers have been scanned. Of those, 650 were green tagged and 202 have been red tagged.

DATATEL: Datatel cannot be reinstalled on computers via the network yet. So users with a green tagged computer that are having trouble with Datatel should call the Help Desk at Ext. 3280 to arrange for Datatel to be installed with a disk.

EMPLOYEE COMPUTER LABS: Several green tagged machines are available in the Employee Learning Facility (ELF) Lab for employee use.

RED TAGGED MACHINES: Work has begun to assess and restore red tagged computers. The focus is currently in Lee Hall which had the most red tagged computers. After tier 6 is complete, teams will focus on revisiting red tagged computers to do further assessments.

VIRUT VIRUS: The same virus has affected the Municipal Courts in downtown Houston. Although officials originally identified the virus as the Conficker, it has since been determined that it was indeed the same virus that infected NIC. Staff from NIC¡¯s IT department have been in touch with officials there to see if they can be of assistance to them as they fight the virus. For more on the story, visit http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou090209_tnt_court-closure.34aebe72.html?npc

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 9 POSTED: 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11

GOING GREEN: This communication is on green paper because more than 50 percent of the college¡¯s desktop computers have been green tagged! This is great news! The Information Technology Department believes that this outbreak is under control and we are on our way to completely restoring business and education operations for the college. On behalf of the virus recovery teams and all of Information Technology, thank you to the entire campus for their support and cooperation.

WHAT TO TELL STUDENTS: Information Technology has yet to come across a non-college computer that has been infected with this strain of the VIRUT.bm or VIRUT.bh virus. Most personal computers and laptops are only at risk if a mobile media device was used on a staff or faculty computer and then moved to a personally owned machine. The transmission of email would not have spread the virus.

If a student feels he or she is at risk, that student should bring thumb drives or other mobile media to either the Help Desk or the Molstead Library Computer Lab to be scanned. If a student has reason to be concerned, please refer them to the Help Desk at Ext. 3280 or helpdesk@nic.edu.

Also encourage students to ensure that their systems are patched and that they¡¯ve updated their antiviral software.

GREEN COMPUTERS FOR STAFF/FACULTY USE: Numerous green tagged computers are available for faculty and staff use in the Molstead Computer Lab. However, these computers do not have Datatel. Seven computers in the Employee Learning Facility (ELF) Lab are equipped with Datatel.

PHONES: The Switchboard is currently operational. The phone system and voicemail systems are currently secure. However, problems with other systems are causing minor inconsistencies within the phone system, which include the lack of a red light when you have voicemail, etc. While they don¡¯t pose a threat, please continue to report these instances to the helpdesk@nic.edu.

FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS: Beginning Thursday, Feb. 12, communications will be sent out at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

REMEMBER: AT THE DIRECTIVE OF PRESIDENT BELL, DO NOT POWER UP COLLEGE COMPUTERS UNTIL VIRUS RECOVERY TEAM MEMBERS HAVE TAGGED IT WITH A GREEN TAG. 100 percent cooperation is needed in order for the virus recovery to be successful.

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 8 POSTED: Noon Wednesday, Feb. 11 AT THE DIRECTIVE OF PRESIDENT BELL, DO NOT POWER UP COLLEGE COMPUTERS UNTIL VIRUS RECOVERY TEAM MEMBERS HAVE TAGGED IT WITH A GREEN TAG. 100 percent cooperation is needed in order for the virus recovery to be successful.

PROGRESS: Buildings that are still being swept include the Meyer Health and Sciences Building, the Workforce Training Center and the college¡¯s other outreach locations, Headwaters D and E, River Building, Seiter Hall, and Kildow Hall. Tier 1 is complete. And virus recovery teams expect the rest of the sweeps to progress fairly smoothly, given the size of the departments on the remaining tiers.

OUTREACH CENTERS: A specific team has been dedicated to traveling to each of the outreach centers and scanning those computers and other equipment for the virus. Sweeps are expected to move quickly at those locations since it is less likely that the virus was as widespread at those locations as it was on main campus.

MOBILE MEDIA SCANNING: A second location has been established in the Molstead Library Computer Lab for the scanning of mobile media. The Help Desk is still scanning thumb drives, writeable CDs, and other mobile media as well. While they are considered mobile media, at this point, IPods are not expected to be carrying the virus. Other locations may be established as the need arises.

GREEN TAGGED COMPUTERS: The definition of a green tagged machine, is that it is safe to use and protected from the virus. However, it may not be operating perfectly. Some applications specific to users may not be functioning properly, for example Datatel. Please report such issues to the Help Desk at Ext. 3280 or helpdesk@nic.edu.

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 7 POSTED: 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11

AT THE DIRECTIVE OF PRESIDENT BELL, DO NOT POWER UP COLLEGE COMPUTERS UNTIL VIRUS RECOVERY TEAM MEMBERS HAVE TAGGED IT WITH A GREEN TAG. 100 percent cooperation is needed in order for the virus recovery to be successful.

Six stations are now available in the Employee Learning Facility with Datatel access. Employees can also work in the Molstead Computer Lab.

Virus recovery teams are continuing to complete the Meyer Health and Sciences Building this morning, Due to the number of computers, labs, and offices, computer scans were not able to be completed on the entire building on Tuesday.

A revised virus recovery schedule follows:

Tier 1) COMPLETE Headwaters B (Campus Safety) Lee Hall Molstead Library

Tier 2) IN PROCESS Edminster Student Union Building Meyer Health and Sciences Building Workforce Training Center (other outreach sites)

Tier 3) COMPLETE Headwaters A, C, D, and E Sherman Administration Building McLain Hall

Tier 4) IN PROCESS Wednesday Timber Hall Sieter Hall Kildow Hall River Building

Tier 5) Lee Hall Annex (later this afternoon) Boswell Hall (later this afternoon) Late Wednesday/Thursday Christianson Gym Siebert Building Post Hall Winton Hall Hedlund Building

Tier 6) (After Tier 5 is complete) Fort Sherman Officers Quarters Residence Hall Children¡¯s Center Industrial Arts Building

A completed building is defined as having every computer tagged red or green. If a completed building has a computer that does not have a tag on it, please call the Help Desk.

Network Services Available: Email¡ªExchange Outlook Datatel NICOnline nic.edu/windriver File services on Spock/Lemhi (read only) Internet access Printing services (Windows/Datatel)

The switchboard is expected to be operational later today.

Laptops: All NIC laptops should be scanned during a building scan or employees can bring them to the Help Desk to be scanned. If you have reason to believe that your personal computer has been compromised, most likely with an infected thumb drive, first get your thumb drive scanned. If it comes up clean, you should be safe to operate the machine. For precautionary reasons, you should also have your laptop scanned. Also, it is important to update your own virus software. If the thumb drive scan shows the presence of the VIRUT.bm or VIRUT.bh virus, have your personal laptop scanned by the Help Desk.

Virus recovery updates are planned for 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. daily. Check back here for more information. Further details of the recovery plan are available at the Computer Services website at www.nic.edu/compserv. Direct further questions to the HelpDesk at Ext. 3280 or email to helpdesk@nic.edu.

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 6 POSTED: 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10

As of this update, Macintosh users on Mac operating systems can pick up a green tag from the Virus Recovery Center in Siebert Building. Macintosh computers and operating systems have not been affected by the virus.

In most building sweeps, about 65 percent of faculty and staff computers are being green tagged after the scan is complete. McLain Hall, which is one example of a typical instructional facility, has exceeded the 65 percent rate.

Please continue to be patient. It is clear that it is difficult to maintain operations with limited to no computer access, but the virus recovery teams are moving through buildings as quickly as they can.

The virus recovery teams are continuing with virus scans of all machines college wide and made substantial progress in the past two days. Currently, they have completed the top 3 tiers of the virus recovery schedule. In the morning, they will proceed with virus scans in Seiter Hall, Kildow Hall, Hedlund Building, Lee Hall Annex, and Boswell Hall.

All red and green tags must stay on computers until further notice. Do not move green tags from computer to computer.

The HelpDesk in Siebert Building has been scanning mobile media sources for employees and the process has been successful in the scanning of these devices. Offices are encouraged to gather all mobile media sources used after Monday, Feb. 2, which may include thumb drives and writable CDs, and take them as a group to the HelpDesk to be scanned. The HelpDesk will analyze the media and then return clean mobile media to the departments when the scanning is complete.

Watch for further updates in the morning. For a list of frequently asked questions and answers, visit the Information Technology website at www.nic.edu/compserv.

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 5 POSTED: Noon Tuesday, Feb. 10

Work is continuing on tier 3. Virus recovery teams will begin the sweep on tier 4 later today. Tier 4 includes Fort Sherman Officer Quarters, Seiter Hall, Kildow Hall, and the River Building.

The virus recovery teams today are seeing a 65 percent rate of green tagged machines after the scanning process is complete. That¡¯s compared to about a 50 percent rate yesterday.

The process of analyzing red tagged machines is in the infancy stages. There has been some success in upgrading red tagged machines to green tags. The Information Technology staff is beginning to develop a process that will be used to continue this progress.

A red tagged machine means that it has been visited, scanned for viruses. It is not operational, but may be virus free. Typically red tagged machines have damaged files, which may possibly be repaired by the virus recovery teams after the initial sweep of all buildings is complete.

Green tagged computers are available for critical work by NIC employees in the Employee Learning Facility (ELF) Lab and the Molstead Computer Lab. Datatel is available on those machines.

MOBILE MEDIA: Offices are encouraged to gather all mobile media sources used after Monday, Feb. 2, which may include thumb drives and writable cds, and take them as a group to the HelpDesk to be scanned. The HelpDesk will analyze the media and then return clean mobile media to the departments when the scanning is complete. The danger lies in the possibility that these media can spread the virus to non-college computers. Please do not share any mobile media that has not been scanned and deemed safe with any non-college computers.

All red and green tags must stay on computers until further notice. Do not move green tags from computer to computer.

AT THE DIRECTIVE OF PRESIDENT BELL, DO NOT POWER UP COLLEGE COMPUTERS UNTIL VIRUS RECOVERY TEAM MEMBERS HAVE TAGGED IT WITH A GREEN TAG. 100 percent cooperation is needed in order for the virus recovery to be successful.

Virus recovery updates are planned for 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. daily. Check back here for more information. The virus recovery schedule and further details of the recovery plan are available at the Computer Services website at www.nic.edu/compserv. Direct further questions to the HelpDesk at Ext. 3280 or email to helpdesk@nic.edu.

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 4 POSTED: 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10

100 PERCENT COOPERATION IS NEEDED IN ORDER FOR THE VIRUS RECOVERY TO BE SUCCESSFUL. Please leave computers powered off until a virus recovery team member has assessed your computer.

Virus recovery teams completed the first tier of the virus recovery schedule this morning making their way through Headwaters Complex B, Lee Hall, and Molstead Library. The sweep of the second tier is continuing this morning. This includes Edminster Student Union Building, Meyer Health and Sciences Building, the Workforce Training Center, Sherman Administration Building, and McLain Hall.

Please spread the word that virus recovery teams will be in these facilities today. Try to make yourselves available to turn on your computer when the virus recovery teams are in your building.

A total of seven virus recovery teams will be assessing computers today, which is four more than yesterday. Today¡¯s efforts include Computer Information Technology students.

Five stations will be available in the Employee Learning Facility (ELF) Lab at 10 a,m.

While media reports stated that email could spread the virus, it will only spread the virus if an infected file is attached to an email. Webmail services are available for use.

All red and green tags must stay on computers until further notice. Do not move green tags from computer to computer.

A red tagged machine must not be turned on. It is likely that a red tagged machine may be virus-free and may be recoverable, but is still not operating. After virus recovery teams complete the virus recovery schedule of each building on campus, they will reassess red tagged machines.

Any writable media MUST be scanned from a green tagged machine or walked over to the HelpDesk to be scanned. Additional scanning locations will be announced later today.

Any NIC laptop that was used last week keep must remain bagged and off the network, even if the laptops are not showing any symptoms of the virus. They will be scanned at a later time when the sweeps of buildings continue.

Another update will be distributed at noon with an update on the latest information regarding the virus recovery.

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 3 POSTED: 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9

Progress is being made at green tagging computers, meaning computers are clean to use with basic software programs. Red tagged and untagged computers should not be used.

AT THE DIRECTIVE OF PRESIDENT BELL, DO NOT POWER UP COLLEGE COMPUTERS UNTIL VIRUS RECOVERY TEAM MEMBERS HAVE TAGGED IT WITH A GREEN TAG. Otherwise, the risk of virus reinfection is highly likely.

Adjustments have been made to the scanning process to make the process as efficient as possible.

The virus recovery teams completed scanning computers in Headwaters B, Lee Hall, the Molstead Library, and Edminster Student Union Building. Approximately half of the computers scanned have been green tagged.

The virus recovery teams will begin working at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10 at the Workforce Training Center and other outreach locations; Meyer Health and Sciences Building; Headwaters Complex A, D, and F; Sherman Administration Building, and McLain Hall. As more progress is made, the virus recovery teams will proceed to the next tier of the schedule.

The Employee Learning Facility is not ready at this time for use by employees. Computers are now available in the Molstead Computer Lab on the second floor of the library. Employees should check in at the Check In Desk and they will be directed to a computer that¡¯s been cleaned and green tagged. The servers continue to be solid and secure and back-up servers are now available.

Student data and employee data has not been compromised.

A list of frequently asked questions are being logged and answered by Information Technology staff and will be posted to the Information Technology website at www.nic.edu/compserv. Virus recovery updates are planned for 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. daily. Check back here for more information. The virus recovery schedule and further details of the recovery plan are available at the Computer Services website at www.nic.edu/compserv. Direct further questions to the HelpDesk at Ext. 3280 or email to helpdesk@nic.edu.

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 2 POSTED: 12:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9

NIC employees on the virus recovery teams began cleaning college computers infected with the VIRUT.bm virus when campus opened this morning at 7:30 a.m.

DO NOT POWER UP COLLEGE COMPUTERS UNTIL A VIRUS RECOVERY TEAM MEMBER HAS TAGGED IT WITH A GREEN TAG MEANING IT IS CLEAN OF THE VIRUT.BM VIRUS. Otherwise, the risk of virus reinfection is highly likely.

The good news so far, the core server farm continues to be solid and secure. Student data and employee data has not been compromised.

The cleaning of the Campus Security Department is complete and has been successful. It was a relatively small department, however, it is vitally important that the Campus Security Department is now able to communicate with public safety authorities.

Please be patient. The scanning of infected computers is a slow process and the virus recovery teams are moving as quickly as they can.

The Information Technology Department has determined that infected files have been uploaded to a limited number of student accessible computers. Action is being taken to alert those students and mitigation is planned to confine that possible infection.

A list of frequently asked questions are being logged and answered by Information Technology staff and is now posted to the Information Technology website at www.nic.edu/compserv.

Virus recovery updates are planned for 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. daily. Check back here for more information. The virus recovery schedule and further details of the recovery plan are available at the Computer Services website at www.nic.edu/compserv. Direct further questions to the HelpDesk at Ext. 3280 or email to helpdesk@nic.edu. Virus Recovery Schedule

Tier 1) Headwaters B (Campus Security) Lee Hall Molstead Library

Tier 2) Edminster Student Union Building Meyer Health and Sciences Building Workforce Training Center (and other outreach sites)

Tier 3) Headwaters A, C, D, and E Sherman Administration Building Hedlund Building McLain Hall

Tier 4) Fort Sherman Officers Quarters Sieter Hall Kildow Hall River Building

Tier 5) Lee Hall Annex Christianson Gym Boswell Hall Siebert Building Post Hall Winton Hall

Tier 6) Residence Hall Children¡¯s Center Timber Hall

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Virus Recovery UPDATE 1 POSTED: 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 9

A virus recovery plan is in action.

NIC employees have now formed virus recovery teams and are currently cleaning college computers infected with the VIRUT.bm virus.

College operations will continue to improve during the recovery process. Staff and faculty should check with their supervisors regarding work processes this week.

Virus recovery teams will be cleaning college computers individually to ensure that each computer, laptop and thumb drive used by employees are infection-free. So far, students' personal equipment does not appear to be affected. If students feel they may have been affected by the VIRUT.bm virus, they should contact the HelpDesk at Ext. 3280 or email helpdesk@nic.edu.

The Information Technology servers were scanned over the weekend and appear to be solid and secure.

Each computer takes 30 minutes to two hours to complete the virus scan. The college wide process for cleaning campus computers is expected to be completed by the end of the workday Wednesday, Feb. 11.

The Employee Learning Facility (ELF) Lab in the lower level of Winton Hall is clean and available for employees needing to do critical work.

Virus recovery updates are planned for 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. daily. Check back here for more information. The virus recovery schedule and further details of the recovery plan are available at the Computer Services website at www.nic.edu/compserv. Direct further questions to the HelpDesk at Ext. 3280 or email to helpdesk@nic.edu.

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POSTED: 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8 Campus Computer Virus Update Webmail and Voice Mail services closed last Friday are now available for remote access by NIC employees and students as of 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8. For updates on the virus situation, go to www.nic.edu/compserv.


     

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