Virus and Spyware Detection Email Notification

Summary

This article describes the contents of the email received by customers when WildBlue operations suspects the customer's computer may contain viruses or spyware that cause unusual levels of traffic on the network

Rules

Prerequisites

Content

Dear WildBlue customer,

WildBlue has received reports that a virus or Trojan horse has attempted to spread to other systems from your computers.  This most likely means that your computer is infected with the same virus or Trojan horse.  Due to the potential security risks to both your system as well as our network, we have had to quarantine your system, and we ask that you remedy this issue as soon as possible.  To do so, please follow these steps within 24 hours:

1. Ensure that all critical updates to your operating system (Windows) have been applied.  These are available at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/.  Microsoft Internet Explorer is required to access this page.  
2. Ensure that your anti-virus software is up to date.  If you are unsure on how to update your program, you will want to contact the manufacturer.  Most can be configured to update on their own.  If you do not have anti-virus program installed on your system, it is recommended that you acquire such a program.  The vast majority of maladies that affect computers are caused by viruses.
3. Restart your computer and enter "Safe Mode" (this can be done by holding down the F8 button after reboot).  Once there, you will want to run a full scan of your system with your anti-virus software.  You may also want to scan with spy ware-removal and ad ware removal tools, as those types of programs are often accompanied by viruses.  
4. You may want to have your system serviced by a computer professional, as a large number of cases require more intensive search for the cause of the issue.  Also, in order to help prevent further breaches of your systems security, you may want to install a firewall on your system.  This will help block outside users from entering your system.

Internal Notes