University computers were not affected by a virus expected to cause damage around the nation Monday.
The CIH virus, capable of deleting hard drive contents and preventing computers from booting up, is a variant of a less pernicious virus that attacks on the 26th of each month. Because this virus attacks on the anniversary of the nuclear reactor meltdown, it is also known as the Chernobyl virus.
This virus was detected in a training computer lab last week, but was easily eliminated by anti-virus software, said Phil Kachelmyer, an information technology manager at computer services.
University computer services issued a warning to departmental technical coordinators, but the notice was not sent to individuals.
“In general, we don’t send notices out at all,” Kachelmyer said. “But there are not very many (viruses) that do actual physical damage to the machine.”
Individuals who didn’t receive a notice or learn of the virus might still be protected if they regularly update their anti-virus software, Kachelmyer said.

— Tammy J. Oseid