Anti-virus policy

Please note that as this policy is periodically reviewed and updated, if you print it from the website, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed for more than a 24 hour period following printing.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) uses a variety of controls to reduce the risk of virus infection of its and partner systems, workstations, email and Internet services. New viruses are discovered almost every day. New types of viruses may lead to these guidelines being updated, so a periodic check for the latest advice is advised.

This Anti-Virus policy shall assist in the prevention of virus related problems. All staff shall:

Run the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Services standard, supported anti-virus software which is available for updates from HFRS server by logging in to HFRS network.
Never open any files or macros attached to an email from an unknown, suspicious or untrustworthy source. All staff shall delete these attachments immediately, then "double delete" them by emptying your “Deleted Items” folder.
Delete spam, chain, and other junk email without forwarding to any other user, in accordance with the guidelines for dealing with spam.
Never download files from unknown or suspicious sources.
Not use local disk read/write sharing.
Always scan a floppy diskette, CD, DVD, External Hard Drives and USB flash memory sticks from an unknown source for viruses before using it.
If you suspect that a software problem may be due to a conflict with the anti-virus software, run the anti-virus utility to ensure a clean machine and report this to the Service Desk.
In addition, HFRS has a centralised computing model, with all data held in secured, centrally located repositories protected by anti virus and accessed through workstations using thin client technology. If, for any reason, applications or critical data is stored on local hard drives, consideration should be given to:
Backing up the data on a regular basis;
Storing backed up data in a safe place.

HFRS are not responsible for the security, backup or restoration of any data stored on local hard drives. All data shall be stored in Hantsfirenet unless agreed with the IS Department. Any suspected virus infection on an HFRS workstation or server should be reported as per the Incident Reporting guidelines.

The following computer use configurations require the observance of additional anti-virus guidelines:

Supplementary virus information page

Please note that in order to view links to secure information in the following paragraph, you will need to log in to the website. If you are unsure how to do this, please contact the IS Service Desk on 7 59 5555 (internal) or 023 8064 4000 extension 5555.

For more information about viruses (including links to anti-virus software vendor sites), and the measures implemented by HFRS ICT Department to combat the threat of virus infection, a supplementary virus information page is maintained. The supplementary virus information page and its contents, however, do not form an integral part of the HFRS Conditions of Use and Guidelines and are therefore not essential reading for Hantsfirenet users.