Safe Computing

Safe Computing Guidelines

Protect Yourself from Computer viruses, spyware, scams & spam

Computer viruses, spyware, and spam not only disrupt your work day with computer and network problems, but can result in identity theft. To avoid these problems, please follow these guidelines.

  • Do NOT open or preview any e-mail message that looks suspicious. If you open an e-mail message or see a pop-up window message and it is asking for personal or financial information, do NOT click on any links. For more information on avoiding identity theft,
    please go to the "Don't Get Caught by Phishing Scams" link at http://its.unl.edu/security/phishingunl
  • Protect your passwords and do NOT share them with anyone. Sharing account information with people you know or through "social engineering" are the most common reasons for identity theft. UNL will NEVER ask you for your passwords. If you fear an account may be compromised, change the password. (Your My.UNL password can be reset here) Learn how to select a more secure password here.
  • Do NOT open any e-mail attachment you are not expecting to receive, even if the message appears to come from someone you know or from Information Services or Microsoft. Instead, first confirm its authenticity by contacting the sender. Neither IS nor Microsoft sends security patches or virus DAT updates as attachments via e-mail.
  • Make sure your anti-virus software's virus definition files are automatically updated daily (or more often). The UNL site license with Cortex by Palo Alto provides anti-virus software free-of-charge to all faculty, staff, and students for work and home computers. For installation and configuration instructions, please see the anti-virus information page:
    https://its.unl.edu/services/antivirus/
  • Set the "Windows update" feature to automatically install all critical system updates as soon as Microsoft issues them. The Huskertech Help Center homepage http://its.unl.edu/helpcenter provides links to the Microsoft web pages that provide instructions for enabling automatic system updates for every version of Windows. If you have questions on any of these guidelines, please contact: 
    Huskertech Help Center at 472-3970 (toll free 866-472-3970) or helpdesk@unl.edu

Endpoint Detection & Response

Cortex XDR (Anti-malware)

Palo Alto Cortex XDR is more advanced than a traditional antivirus solution. Cortex is an extended detection and response app that uses real-time detection to respond to malware and other sophisticated attacks while preventing malicious software from running on devices.

notification attack threat
Learn More