These instructions are for both Mac and Windows computers.

Saint Mary's College recommends using the College-provided Bitdefender software for protecting your personally-owned computer from malware and other security threats.

Saint Mary's College also recommends using Malwarebytes, a free malware removal program, for removing a majority of infections seen on personally-owned computers at Saint Mary's College.

Individuals are encouraged to try the instructions below to remove malware on their own.

Some malware cannot be removed easily. Computers that are infected and cannot access the Internet, cannot launch applications (especially malware removal programs such as Bitdefender and Malwarebytes), or will not allow you to delete infected files may require professional assistance. The ResNet Office is available to assist students with personally-owned computers infected with such malware.

Students are welcome to bring their computers to the ResNet Office. The ResNet Office provides technical support, including malware removal, free of charge to all Saint Mary's students. Students must be present in the ResNet Office while the staff works on their computers. The hours for the ResNet Office are available on the ResNet website (http://www.saintmarys.edu/resnet).

Faculty and staff may contact the Helpdesk for assistance with their College-owned computers. Information Technology is unable to provide assistance with faculty/staff personal computers beyond these instructions.

Please note that you are welcome to follow these steps to clean your infected computer while you are connected to the network. However, if your computer's network access has been blocked because the infection was attempting to spread via the campus network, your computer will not be re-enabled until a ResNet Computer Consultant verifies that it is clean.

• Follow the ResNet FAQ instructions for installing the free version of Malwarebytes on your computer. (http://www.saintmarys.edu/resnet/resnetfaq/antimalware.html).

• Once the software is installed, run a Threat Scan on your computer. Threat Scans do not scan your entire computer for malicious software, but focuses on locations commonly used for storage and the launching of malware.

• Once the Threat Scan is complete, check the boxes next to the threats found and then click Confirm (Mac) or Quarantine Selected (Windows). After the threats are quarantined, restart your computer. You can then go back into Malwarebytes to clear the Quarantine of items found.

• Install the latest version of Bitdefender on your computer. Instructions are available at http://www.saintmarys.edu/virus.

• Make sure you install the latest available version of Bitdefender that your computer can support (if multiple versions are available to you).

• Check your Bitdefender settings to make sure that the software is set to update automatically (Autopilot needs to be turned on). This is enabled by default, but could be changed by malicious software.

• Scan your computer with Bitdefender. Instructions are available at http://www.saintmarys.edu/virus under the Instructions for using virus-protection software section. You will want to run a Full Scan (Mac) or Vulnerability Scan (Windows).

• If necessary, change your web browser's home page back to a desired page, such as www.google.com. Detailed instructions for making Google (or any other website) your home page can be found at http://www.google.com/homepage/.

• Your web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer) may have extensions installed by the malware. You will need to remove these unwanted extensions. (Some extensions may be legitimate - use your judgement to delete the unwanted ones, or delete all of them to be safe. Legitimate extensions can always be reinstalled.)

  • Google Chrome:
  1. Click the Chrome menu (three short vertical lines) on the browser toolbar.
  2. Click Tools.
  3. Select Extensions.
  4. Click the trash can icon by the extension you want to remove.
  5. When the confirmation window appears, click Remove.
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer:
  1. Click the Tools button.
  2. Select Manage Add-ons.
  3. In the left column, select Toolbars and Extensions.
  4. In the right column, select any extension you want to remove and click the Disable button.
  5. When the confirmation window appears, click Disable.
  6. After you have completed disabling unwanted Toolbars and Extensions, click on Search Providers in the left column.
  7. In the right column, select any Search Provider you want to remove and click the Remove button.
  8. If you wish, you can select a Search Provider you want to set as the default search option, then click the Set as default button.
  9. Click the Close button when finished.
  • Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Click the menu button (three short vertical lines) and choose Add-ons.
  2. In the Add-ons Manager tab, select the Extensions or Appearance panel.
  3. Select the add-on you wish to disable.
  4. Click its Disable button.
  5. If prompted, click to Restart Now.

• Clear the cache in your web browsers.

• Instructions for clearing the cache of most popular web browsers can be found at http://www.saintmarys.edu/resnet/resnetfaq/webbrowsing.html

• This is a list of all settings that you should check to prevent future infections. These are general directions - if students need assistance with these items, please contact the ResNet Office.

• Make sure you have a password set for all accounts on your computer. The Guest account should be disabled if you are not using it. (Start -> Control Panel -> User Accounts. All active accounts should be noted as password protected.)
• Make sure all critical and important Windows Updates have been installed. (Start -> Control Panel -> Windows Update.)
• Make sure the Windows Firewall is enabled for all connections - wired and wireless. If the firewall cannot be enabled, there is likely residual malware on the computer. You may have the Bitdefender firewall enabled, and that is also an acceptable option.
• Make sure that any peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software that may have been on the computer is uninstalled.
• Confirm that the computer has been connected to the network following all of the instructions in ResNet's Purple Packet. To obtain a copy of the current Purple Packet, please visit the ResNet website at http://www.saintmarys.edu/resnet or visit the ResNet Office.

• Students are welcome to bring their computers to the ResNet Office. The ResNet Office provides technical support, including malware removal, free of charge to all Saint Mary's students. Students must be present in the ResNet Office while the staff works on their computers. The hours for the ResNet Office are available on the ResNet website (http://www.saintmarys.edu/resnet).

• Faculty and staff may contact the Helpdesk for assistance with their College-owned computers. The Helpdesk and ResNet Office are unable to provide assistance for faculty and staff personally-owned computers.