The University of Pennsylvania offers threat protection and antivirus software solutions for faculty, staff, and students. For computers managed by Wharton Computing (typically faculty, staff, and the public computers in labs, classrooms, and hallways), the Crowdstrike software must be installed and running.  For unmanaged computers (typically student computers, and those not managed by Wharton Computing), the University provides Sophos Home free of charge. 

For more information such as recommendations and helpful tips, please see our full Virus Protection article.

Are You Already Protected?

The first step is to determine whether you are already protected. Recommendations at Wharton differ depending on whether you are faculty, staff, or student and whether Wharton Computing is managing your computer.

Unmanaged Computers (Students, Faculty & Staff  with Unmanaged or Personal Computers)

Student computers and some personal computers owned by faculty and staff are "unmanaged" -- they are not part of the Wharton Computing-managed computing environment. These computers should have antivirus protection installed -- we recommend Sophos Home (for Macs) or Windows Defender (for Windows 10).  

Managed Computers (Staff, Faculty)

Wharton Computing uses the Crowdstrike software to protect staff and faculty machines that are managed by Wharton Computing. (Student computers are not managed by Wharton Computing.)

Choosing Your Antivirus Software

There are several conditions that will determine which steps you take to install the appropriate antivirus software: who you are, and what kind of computers you are using. 

Antivirus Download Links

For unmanaged computers, Wharton Computing recommends using Sophos Home software on MacOS devices. Windows 8 & 10 devices are already protected by the built-in antivirus software, Windows Defender.

MacOS	Windows 10	Windows 10 (if Defender is not an option)
Sophos Home	Windows Defender	Sophos Home

Sophos Home FAQs

Here are a few questions we hear from users about Sophos Home:

Questions?

Students - email support@wharton.upenn.edu.

Faculty - contact your Academic Distributed Representative (login required).

Staff - email admin-support@wharton.upenn.edu.

For more information regarding security threats and antivirus software, you can also contact the Wharton Information Security Office at security@wharton.upenn.edu.

This article provides information on protecting yourself from viruses, malware, and other malicious software. It lists recommended protection software, helpful tips, and what to do next if you think you've been infected.

Antivirus Software

Most Antivirus software now requires a subscription. If you prefer not to maintain a subscription, we recommend using Sophos (free to members of the Penn Community) or Windows Defender (for Windows machines).

Active Defenders

• Windows → Sophos Homeis offered by the University for free. Best for Staff and Faculty use.
• Windows 10/11 → Windows Defender is the default antivirus software on Windows 10 & above. Best for Student use.
• MacOS → Sophos Homeis also offered for MacOS by the University.

Scanners

• MalwareBytes scans your computer for any potential malicious or suspicious software & processes.

Helpful Tips

Be Aware of Sites & Attachments

As computers become more networked and standardized, it gets easier and easier to catch computer viruses. You can get viruses from downloads over the internet, from opening e-mail attachments, or from another infected system or device.

Many self-propagating viruses will mail themselves to you before the original sender has discovered that his/her machine is infected. Be suspicious of any attachments, but be extra vigilant about inappropriate subject lines and attachment titles (for example, if someone you barely know sends you an e-mail called ILOVEYOU).

Back Up Data Frequently

Some viruses are so damaging that they will render your files useless or unrecoverable. In that case, your only hope of recovery is with back-ups made prior to infection. 

Update, update, update!

Microsoft & software developers frequently release patches to fix known issues for their services. These fixes include known security issues that may leave your computer or program vulnerable to viruses and other attacks. To manually update, press the Windows key + S (  + s),  type check for updates, and then click the Check for Updates setting.

Sophos Home

The University of Pennsylvania offers free antivirus software to faculty and staff in the form of Sophos Home. Below are the links to download this software, along with some Frequently Asked Questions. 

Download Links

Wharton Computing recommends using this software on MacOS devices. Windows 10 & 11 devices are already protected by the built-in antivirus software, Windows Defender.

Windows 8.1, 10, or 11	Windows 8.1, 10, or 11	MacOS
Sophos Home for Windows Staff and Faculty	Windows Defender Students	Sophos Home for Mac Students

Sophos Home FAQs

What if I already have antivirus software? 

If you are satisfied with your current antivirus software and are able to update the virus definition files on a regular basis then you can continue the use of your current antivirus software, but you might need an additional anti-spyware program. If you are not able to update the virus definition files or your antivirus subscription is expired, you will need to switch to Sophos Home.

Why should I switch to Sophos Home?

The university pays for a Sophos Home subscription that includes virus definition updates and spyware scans in addition to virus scans. It is also supported by Wharton Computing, so you can get assistance with the program should you encounter any problems.

Will I get technical support if I switch to Sophos Home? 

Yes, Wharton Computing offers support for Sophos Home and will be able to help you install and configure the antivirus software. 

If your computer has a virus... 

Students: If you think you have a virus, please stay calm and follow the directions in our Virus Removal article. We also encourage you to call, email, or drop by our Support Office (SHDH 114) in person so we can help with the situation. 

Faculty & Staff: Please contact your Wharton Computing Representative or the Wharton Information Security Office at security@wharton.upenn.edu.

Questions?

Students: visit the Student Computing Website.

Faculty: contact your Academic Distributed Representative (login required).

Staff: email admin-support@wharton.upenn.edu.

For more information regarding security threats and antivirus software, you can also contact the Wharton Information Security Office at security@wharton.upenn.edu.

This article will give you an overview of what a firewall is, how it works, and will provide instructions on how to ensure your personal computer's firewall(s) are enabled.

What is a firewall?

1. A firewall is a network security system that establishes a barrier between a trusted, secure internal network and another network that may not be secure.
2. Additionally, a firewall can help prevent hackers or malicious software from gaining access to your computer through a network or the Internet. A firewall can also help stop your computer from sending malicious software to other computers.
   

Enable/Disable Firewall

Windows 

Follow Microsoft's directions on how to turn your Firewall on or off.

MacOS

Follow Apple's directions on how to turn your Firewall on or off. 

Allow Trusted Applications

You can allow applications you trust. Only choose this option for applications you know are safe.

Questions?

Students - Wharton Computing Student Support

Faculty - Academic Distributed Representatives

Staff - Administrative Support

For more information regarding security threats and antivirus software, you can also contact the Wharton Information Security Office at security@wharton.upenn.edu.

This article covers the update process for Web Browsers.

Web Browsers

Healthy Computing requires regularly updating your computer, but we often forget to update our web browser(s). Since so much of computing now takes place in a web browser, it is considered one of the largest attack vectors for malware.

Most major browsers (e.g. Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox, and DuckDuckGo) are quick to fix vulnerabilities and auto-update, and all you need to do is restart your browser regularly! The Wharton Information Security Office recommends restarting your browser each day to allow any applicable updates to apply. 

Your open tabs should reappear or if not, you can restore the previous session from the “History” menu in your browser to pick up from where you left off while being up-to-date!

Updating your Browser

There are several ways to update your browsers. 

Restart (Updates Automatically)

A restart of your browser usually updates it immediately -- all you need to do is close all open instances of the browser, and restart. Your open tabs should reappear or, if not, you can restore the previous session from the “History” menu in your browser to pick up from where you left off.

Manual Update

You can also manually check your browsers for updates, although how you do it varies by Operating System:

• macOS: click the application title in the top menu bar just to the right of the Apple logo, and select “About [Browser Name]” from the menu that appears

  • For Safari, macOS delivers updates via software updates in Settings; see Update to the latest version of Safari - Apple Support

• Windows: click “Help” in the top menu bar of the application, and select either “About [Browser Name]” or “Check for Updates” from the menu that appears.

Browser Resources and Recommendations

For more information on security options for major browsers, here are places to start:

• Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/10468685?hl=en&sjid=8263394724745160652-NA
• Microsoft Edge: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/enhance-your-security-on-the-web-with-microsoft-edge-b8199f13-b21b-4a08-a806-daed31a1929d 
• Safari: https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/welcome/mac  (choose Table of Contents and then Security for your version)
• Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/products/firefox/protect-your-privacy 

Questions?

Contact your  Wharton Computing Representative or the Wharton Information Security Office for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I no longer use an app (i.e. G Suite Sync for Outlook) and want to remove its access to my Google Account. How can I do this?

A: The first step of the Google Security Checkup allows you to review and manage any apps that have been granted access to your account.

Q: Are security & privacy checks available for my devices as well?

A:  If you are a student, yes! Simply drop by the Tech Center at SHDH-114 and ask to participate in a Device Tune-up & Security Session. If you are faculty or staff, please contact your Academic Distributed Representative or Administrative support, respectively.

Q: What if I notice a device or location that isn't mine has accessed my account?

A:  Reset your Google account password as soon as possible, as well as any other passwords that may be the same or similar. Contact your IT support team if you have additional questions (see Questions? above). 

This article provides guidance regarding Google's Login Challenges. More specifically, it is designed to describe when they appear, why they appear, and what you can do about it.

Account security is of utmost concern for both Google and Wharton Computing. When Google determines that a user is logging in from either: 

1. An unknown device (new phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop)
2. An unusual or new location (different state or country)

They may prompt the user with a login challenge. The login challenge you receive depends on the information you have associated with your account.

Adding Recovery Information

1. Navigate to myaccount.google.com.
2. Log in with your Google Account.
3. Click the Security tab.
4. Scroll down to Ways we can verify it's you.
5. Choose a recovery option (phone or email) and follow the instructions to verify your information.

Various Login Challenges

Scenario 1: No recovery information

You will be prompted with the following Login Challenge if you do not have a recovery phone number or a recovery email address associated with your account.

Scenario 2: Only recovery phone number

You will be prompted with the following Login Challenge if you only have a recovery phone number associated with your account.

Scenario 3: Only recovery email address

You will be prompted with the following Login Challenge if you only have a recovery email address associated with your account.

Scenario 4: Both recovery phone number & recovery email address

You will be prompted with the following Login Challenge if you have both a recovery phone number and a recovery email address associated with your account.

Additional Note: Other Help

Questions?

Students - Wharton Computing Student Support

Faculty - Academic Distributed Representatives (login required)

Staff - Administrative Support (login required)

For more information regarding Google login information, you can also contact the Wharton Information Security Office at security@wharton.upenn.edu.

If your personal computer has a virus, use the steps below to try removing it on your own. 

Virus Removal Procedure 

We've compiled a set of simplified steps for PC and Mac to make it easy for you to try and fix your own computer. Students can make an appointment (before 2 pm) with Student Support to have their machines scanned and cleaned if more help is needed. 

Windows/PC

The procedure below is simplified for your convenience and remedies most situations.

Virus Removal Procedure (Mac)

The steps for removing viruses from Macs are fairly straightforward. 

Questions?

Contact your  Wharton Computing Representative or the Wharton Information Security Office at security@wharton.upenn.edu for more information.

The University provides a premium password management service, Dashlane. Use this article to help you choose and configure the account type that is right for you, and for any Wharton-specific tips. The University also has information on setting up Dashlane. 

Dashlane Business Plan

Dashlane business plan accounts are available for University faculty, staff, and employees. They allow you to share credentials with other colleagues securely.

To create a Dashlane account tied to Wharton’s business plan, you'll need to receive an invitation emailed to your Wharton email account. To request an invitation to use Dashlane Enterprise, please contact your Wharton Computing representative.

If you run into issues with installing the browser plugin see Dashlane's article.  We also recommend that you turn on the Account Recovery Methods to ensure you don’t lose all your passwords if you forget your Master Password! See the section on enabling account recovery options, below, for details.

Dashlane Personal Account with Premium Access

Dashlane personal accounts are for everyone in the Penn Community.

To obtain a Dashlane Premium account, follow ISC’s Dashlane Premium instructions.

Dashlane is available as an app for your smart phone, and as an extension for your web browser. If you run into issues with installing the browser plugin, you can use this link to install it.

Additional Information and Best Practices

General

Safari Browser Does Not Work

When using Safari, accepting the invitation from email doesn’t work. You will likely have to use a different browser (eg. Firefox, Chrome).

Account Recovery Options

We recommend enabling a password recovery option for your Dashlane account so you have another way to access your password store if you lose your master password. See Dashlane's article on  Account recovery key set up .

Store Personal and Business Passwords Separately

ISC and Wharton Security recommend using distinct password manager stores (accounts) to separate your personal passwords:

• Personal passwords: any passwords for personal use, eg. your Netflix account, etc. 
• Work passwords: any credentials you use to access work resources. 

This is good practice so that a compromise of your personal password manager won’t inadvertently expose University resources and open the University to risk. You can have two separate Dashlane accounts, but they must have separate login credentials. For example:

• Dashlane Business: Use this for Wharton and Penn work
• Dashlane Premium: Use this for saving personal credentials. (Or use a different password manager.)

If you need to store work-related credentials, ask your Wharton Computing representative for an invitation to Wharton’s Dashlane plan. 

Dashlane Business Users

Dashlane Business Accounts are Tied to the Wharton Dashlane plan

Using Dashlane Business accounts linked to the Wharton Dashlane Plan means you are part of the school’s Dashlane account and subject to its policies. When a Dashlane Business account is separated from our Wharton Dashlane plan (for example, if you leave the university), your account will lose all data added when it was part of the business account.

Don't Store Personal Passwords in Dashlane Business

We recommend not storing personal passwords in Dashlane Business. If for whatever reason you simply cannot avoid it, please beware of the following:

• When you leave the University, your Dashlane business account will be removed from the Wharton Dashlane business plan. Any passwords created while part of the Dashlane business plan will be deleted from your Dashlane account. 

• Since it is complicated to export individual passwords, and exporting any work credentials is against policy, we recommend storing all personal passwords in a separate account (either Dashlane Premium or another password manager).

Enable Account Recovery Options

We recommend that you turn on an Account Recovery Method: This will ensure you don’t lose all your passwords if you forget your Master Password! If you forget your Master Password and haven't enabled a recovery method, you may need to reset your account, which erases all your data. Here are the options:

• Option 1: Account Recovery Key
• Option 2: Admin-Assisted Recovery
• Option 3: Biometric Recovery

Business users should enable all 3 options. They need to be set up BEFORE before you need the account recovery service, so make sure to consider this when setting up your account. If you weren’t prompted to do this when you set up your account (or just didn’t do it), see Dashlane's article on setting this up.

Using Dashlane Collections

A Dashlane collection is a shared Dashlane password folder. It works a little differently than in LastPass.

• In LastPass, credentials were stored inside the shared folder. Everyone with access to the shared folder could see it.

• In Dashlane, each credential first must be created in the user’s Dashlane storage, and then shared to a Collection. Once each user gains access to the collection, those items then are visible in those users' Dashlane storage as well.

• When sharing collections, if you share the collection without granting anyone else full (“Manager”) access, then no one else will be able to share it if your Dashlane account gets revoked from the Wharton Dashlane shared account. You should take care to always make sure at least one other person other than yourself has Manager access to a shared collection, otherwise you may end up with a shared collection with passwords and credentials inside it that no one can manage, edit, or delete.

The best way to deal with disruptive behavior in a Zoom meeting is to prevent it from happening in the first place. This article details several ways to secure your Zoom meetings and how you can quickly deal with disruptions in an active Zoom meeting.

Best Practices

Zoombombing, wherein participants join Zoom meetings to cause a disruption, can derail any meeting. There are some things that you can do to thwart potential Zoombombers before they even have the chance to enter your meeting. 

Don't post meeting information publicly

Only share the Zoom meeting details with attendees. Avoid posting them on a publically accessible website (Canvas sites are only accessible to those people explicitly granted access).

You should also consider not using your Personal Meeting ID. This is a permanent meeting that has set login information. While your PMI is great for sharing with students and co-workers because the login information remains the same, it is less secure since that login information could be shared with others without your knowledge. We recommend setting up individual Zoom meetings for regular work/classes.

Enable Waiting Room

In a Zoom meeting with Waiting Room enabled, the meeting host/co-host has to admit people into the meeting. This allows you to control exactly who can join your meeting.

To enable the Waiting Room for a Zoom meeting as it is taking place (and the host/co-host of):

1. Click the Host Tools icon at the bottom of your Zoom meeting window.
   
2. Click Enable Waiting Room on the Security menu.
   
3. You'll see an alert that lets you know the waiting room has been enabled for the meeting.
   

You'll get an alert whenever someone enters the Waiting Room. You can read more about Waiting Rooms in Zoom's documentation.

To enable the Waiting Room for a meeting scheduled in the future:

1. Log into https://upenn.zoom.us with your PennKey username and password.
2. Click on Meetings in the left sidebar.
3. You will see a list of your upcoming meetings. Hover over the meeting you want to change and click the blue Edit button.
4. Scroll down to the Security section and check the box next to Waiting Room.
5. Click Save, and your meeting is updated.

To have all of your new Zoom meetings have Waiting Room enabled by default:

1. Log into https://upenn.zoom.us with your PennKey username and password.
2. Click on Settings on the left sidebar.
3. This should open the Meeting settings, with Waiting Room near the top.
4. Toggle Waiting Room on.
5. Click Edit Options if you'd like to change who should go into the waiting room ("users not in your account" means non-Penn users), among other things.
6. Changes are saved automatically, so any meetings you create going forward will have a Waiting Room.

If you enable "Allow Authenticated Users Only" (see the next section for more information on this setting), you can allow authenticated users to skip the Waiting Room and be automatically allowed into the meeting by following these directions after logging into https://upenn.zoom.us with your PennKey username and password:

1. Click Settings.
2. Click Security.
3. Under the Waiting Room section, click Edit Options.
4. Change "Who should go into the waiting room" to "Users not in your account." This will allow Penn users to skip the Waiting Room whilst, non-Penn users, or unauthenticated Penn users, will need to be allowed into the meeting from the Waiting Room.
   
5. Click Continue.

Authenticated users only

You can require that all attendees be logged in with their Penn accounts or a Zoom account before they can join your meeting. You can limit it to (the following list goes from least to most inclusive and is additive):

• Penn users only
• Anyone with a Zoom account
• Specific exceptions can be added per meeting (i.e., santa@northpole.com can join without having to authenticate, but everyone else has to since they might be naughty).

You can require authentication on a per-meeting basis or by default for all meetings:

On an individual meeting

New Meeting

1. Launch Zoom.
2. Schedule a new meeting.
3. Scroll through the Schedule Meeting window and check the box next to "Only authenticated users can join."
4. Select either Penn users only (the default) or Anyone with a Zoom account from the dropdown.
5. Continue scheduling your meeting as usual.

Existing Meeting

The best way to force authentication on an existing meeting is to edit the settings via https://upenn.zoom.us:

1. Log into https://upenn.zoom.us with your PennKey username and password.
2. Hover over the meeting you'd like to edit from your Upcoming Meetings.
3. Click the Edit button that appears as you're hovering over the meeting.
4. Check "Require authentication to join" in the Security section.
5. Select either Penn users only (the default) or Anyone with a Zoom account from the dropdown.
6. Click Save.

Allowing Exceptions

Authentication Exceptions allow you to list people who don't have to authenticate to enter a meeting that requires it. This allows you to limit your attendees to Penn folks (or people with a Zoom account) but include non-Penn guest speakers. Here's how:

1. Log into https://upenn.zoom.us with your PennKey username and password.
2. Hover over the meeting you'd like to edit from your Upcoming Meetings.
3. Click the Edit button that appears as you're hovering over the meeting.
4. Click Add next to "Authentication Exception" under "Require authentication to join" in the Security section.
5. Type the exception's full name and email address.
6. Click Add Participant to add more exceptions.
7. Click Save to save the exceptions.
8. Click Save to save the settings for the meeting.

Making this a Default Setting

You can require authentication for all your Zoom meetings going forward by logging into https://upenn.zoom.us with your PennKey username and password and following these directions:

1. Click Settings.
2. Click Security.
3. Scroll down until you see "Only authenticated meeting participants and webinar attendees can join meetings and webinars."
4. Click the toggle next to that section to turn it on (the toggle displays blue when a feature is active). 
5. Your settings are automatically saved, and now, each Zoom meeting you schedule will require attendees to authenticate.

During Your Meeting

Despite following all of our best practices, disruptions could occur in a Zoom meeting in which you're the host (or co-host). There are a few Zoom tools that make it easy to deal with a disruptive participant quickly:

• Remove Participant - Disruptive participants are easy to remove once identified.
• Lock Meeting - Locking your meeting stops any further participants from joining.
• Suspend All Participant Activities - The most severe option of the bunch; this will stop all activity in the meeting so you can gather your thoughts and identify the disruptive participants who should be removed.

The following three sections detail each of these features in turn. 

Remove Participant

If you can identify the disruptive participants, you can remove them from your Zoom meeting:

1. Click on the Participants icon at the bottom of the Zoom window to show the Participants list if it isn't already showing.
2. Find the person you'd like to remove and hover over their name in the list.
3. Click on More to reveal a list of options.
4. Click on Remove to remove the selected participant.
5. A confirmation popup appears. We recommend unchecking "Report to Zoom."
6. Click Remove, and the participant is removed from your meeting and will not be able to rejoin.
7. Repeat for each participant you'd like to remove.

Lock Meeting

You may want to stop additional people from joining your meeting for some reason. To do this, you need to "Lock" your meeting:

1. Click the Shield icon labeled Host Tools at the bottom of your Zoom meeting window.
2. A list of all the in-meeting security controls available to you appears. Click Lock Meeting at the top of the list.
3. An alert appears, letting you know that no one else can join the meeting.

Suspend All Activities

If there is a significant disruption in your meeting, you can suspend all participant activities with a few clicks. Be warned that this turns off most of the functionality of your Zoom meeting. Suspending all participant activities does all of the following:

• Mutes all video and audio.
• Hides all profile pictures
• Stops all active screenshares and turns off screensharing.
• Closes all breakout rooms.
• Stops the meeting recording if the meeting is being recorded.
• Turns off any Zoom apps active in the meeting.
• Locks the meeting, preventing anyone else from joining.

Once all activity has been suspended, you can use the "Remove Participant" directions above to remove the disruptive participant(s).

To Suspend All Participant Activity in a meeting:

1. Click the Shield icon labeled Host Tools at the bottom of your Zoom meeting window.
2. Click Suspend Participant Activity at the bottom of the list in red.
   
3. Uncheck "Report to Zoom" in the notification, which also reminds you that you're about to turn off all the functions in your Zoom meeting.
4. Click the red Suspend button.
5. You'll get a confirmation message that all activity has been suspended in the meeting.

Once you've dealt with the disruption, you can turn on individual features by clicking the Host Tools icon and enabling each feature individually.

After Your Meeting

If any of your Zoom meetings are disrupted besides using the features above, report the incident to the Wharton Information Security Office (security@wharton.upenn.edu). They can engage additional resources, if needed, and offer any help you may require.

Questions?

Contact your  Wharton Computing Representative or the Wharton Information Security Office for more information.