The University of Iowa is transitioning to new anti-virus software, which means students and employees who use Symantec on their home computers will need to switch to another product by June.
Information Technology Services (ITS) encourages students and employees to utilize the following free products for home use. Several of our peer institutions went in this direction and found that it worked well.
Windows:
- Microsoft Security Essentials | windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/security-essentials-download
(Pre-installed on Windows 8 systems)
Macintosh:
- Sophos Endpoint Protection | www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition.aspx
Linux:
- ClamAV | www.clamav.net/lang/en/
Campus IT professionals will need to install the new anti-virus product, System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection, on university machines between now and June 30. (Please note that this does not include computers at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, which are under a separate license with McAfee).
ITS will provide three ways for ITAdmins to retrieve the new anti-virus product for UI machines:
- ITS Helpdesk downloads site | helpdesk.its.uiowa.edu/software/signin.htm
- LiteTouch | its.uiowa.edu/uiosinstall
- SCCM | its.uiowa.edu/sccm
Why the change? The UI’s contract with Symantec is due to end in June, which prompted ITS to review whether that product would continue to be the best solution for campus. Throughout the fall, IT professionals from various parts of campus compared Symantec Endpoint Protection with System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection to determine the best fit from a security, manageability, community, and cost perspective.
Testing and evaluation indicated that System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection would be a better solution for several reasons, including integration with the university’s other System Center products, more robust reporting, less intrusive interface for the end user, and cost savings for campus. Therefore, starting in January, ITS began providing public installer packages to IT professionals on campus for managed and unmanaged university Windows clients, unmanaged Macintosh clients, and unmanaged Linux clients.
The ITS Help Desk staff say they will be happy to assist people with questions or issues. Just call 319-384-HELP (4-4357) or e-mail its-helpdesk@uiowa.edu. ITS staff add that they appreciate everyone's assistance making this transition as smooth as possible.