Iowa State University IT

Current Issues

Disclaimer: Patching and cleaning your machine may cause some programs to fail. In the worst-case scenario, you will need your system disks and/or software application disks to rebuild the machine and reinstall the software.

Apply Critical Patches

Keeping up on critical patches requires diligence but is important to protecting your Windows system from vulnerabilities. The best source for the latest patches is the Windows update site at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/.

You must have the latest patches to be protected. If you have Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed, you do not need the patches below since SP2 includes them.

If you do not have SP2 installed, you should update your system immediately by applying the relevant patches below. Install them in the order listed.

Windows XP

Windows 2000

Clean Viruses/Worms

Information on significant virus outbreaks affecting campus is posted in the news section on the Information Technology website.

Virus Information Online

A good resource for information on specific viruses is the McAfee AVERT Virus Information Library, with detailed information on where viruses come from, how they infect your system, and how to remove them.

Blocked Systems

If NetReg has said that your computer is blocked from the Internet and the reason is a virus or worm, you will need to clean your system before you can regain access. Key steps are to patch your computer, remove any viruses/worms, and update your system by following the online unblock instructions.

If you have questions, contact the Solution Center, 195 Durham Center,

solution (at) iastate (dot) edu
, 515-294-4000.

Other Resources

Administrative Passwords

Before connecting your Windows 2000/XP or Macintosh OS X system to the network, make sure you have an administrative password set on all of your login accounts.

For Windows 2000:

  1. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Users and Passwords.
  3. Highlight each account one at a time and select "Reset Password". Type in a password for each account, containing not just lowercase letters and numbers, but symbols and uppercase letters.

For Windows XP:

To have full access to set all administrator account passwords, you'll need to start your computer in Safe Mode. To do so:

  1. Press the power button on your computer to start it.
  2. As soon as you see that your computer has powered on, begin pressing the "F8" key.
  3. You should be prompted with a screen that includes several options. Near the top of the screen, you should see "Safe Mode" or "Safe Mode with Network Support".
  4. Press the Up or Down arrows to select "Safe Mode with Network Support".
  5. Press Enter.

Once you have started Windows in Safe Mode:

  1. Click Start -> Control Panel.
  2. Double-click User Accounts.
  3. Highlight each account one at a time and select "Reset Password". Type in a password for each account, containing not just lowercase letters and numbers, but symbols and uppercase letters.

For Mac OS X:

  1. Under Apple Menu select -> System Preferences and click Accounts.
  2. Highlight each user and click "Edit User..."
  3. Be sure a password is listed in the "New Password" field. To change a password, enter the current password into the Current Password field and press Return.
  4. Type the new password in the "New Password" field, "verify" fields, and click OK.

Blocked Systems

If your system has been blocked from the Internet, follow the online unblock instructions. You can check blocking status and reasons via NetReg at http://netreg.iastate.edu/. If you have questions, contact the Solution Center, 195 Durham Center,

solution (at) iastate (dot) edu
, 515-294-4000.

Compromised Systems

If your system has been compromised, somebody is probably using your machine--possibly to scan and find other machines to compromise. There is no automated method for cleaning up a compromised machine. Our recommendation is that you back up important personal files, reformat the hard drive, and reinstall the operating system and software. Consulting assistance is available through the Solution Center, 515-294-4000.

Once your machine has been cleaned, send email to

solution (at) iastate (dot) edu
with notification that the system has been cleaned. Don't forget to include the Internet address (also known as IP number); you can find this via the NetReg page at http://netreg.iastate.edu/. The system needs to be left on so we can verify that it is clean. We will only check after you have sent us the email notification. Depending on the number of infected systems on campus, it can take from a few hours to a few days to get unblocked.