UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s contract for Symantec antivirus software will end on Aug. 22, and the University has decided not to renew the contract. This change will result in cost savings and reduce redundancy since faculty and staff members are also covered by Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) for systems owned by Penn State.
The Office of Information Security has been working with local IT units to transition University-owned machines to Microsoft Defender ATP. However, anyone who downloaded Symantec onto their personal equipment through the University will be required to remove it before the contract expires. Doing so. will ensure compliance with the University’s licensing agreement and improve the security of personal devices since Symantec will not auto update after Aug. 22.
Although a replacement antivirus solution for personal devices will not be offered by the University at this time, free antivirus solutions are listed on the Office of Information Security website.
For additional questions or IT support, contact the Software at Penn State team at psulss@psu.edu.