How Crowdstrike Falcon Protects University Devices

This article applies to Managed IT partners

The Office of Technology and Digital Innovation (OTDI) has a variety of measures to keep you as a user and university devices safe. One of these measures is the application CrowdStrike Falcon which is the antivirus component of our endpoint protection tool. 

CrowdStrike Falcon works in the background on your device to ensure that viruses don’t infect your device. Occasionally, you may receive a pop-up if you attempt to download something from your browser. Before downloading any software, review the application offerings via Software Center (for Windows PC) or Ohio State Application Self Service (for Mac).  

If you’ve received a pop-up notification from CrowdStrike stating that a file/download has been blocked, you can safely dismiss it. If you believe you’ve received a notification as a mistake, or have any questions regarding downloadable software, please contact the IT Service Desk. 

Crowdstrike Falcon On-Demand Scan

If you want an additional level of security, you can also use the CrowdStrike Falcon On-Demand Scan (ODS) to scan existing or new files on your device. ODS is an endpoint security feature designed to identify suspicious/malicious files using automatic and manual scans of local file systems (including USB storage devices). Currently, this feature is only available for Windows devices. Scans will automatically occur when a USB storage device is connected and scans can also be started on a device by the user, through the right-click menu.

What types of files are scanned?

• Windows PE files are scanned (e.g. .exe, .dll) - archives and data file types are excluded (e.g. .pst, .zip)
• Subfolders will automatically be included in scans
• On-Demand Scan will not follow symlinks

How do I run a scan?

1.) After you find the file/folder/drive you would like to scan, right-click on the file/folder/drive. (Once a scan has started you can cancel/stop a scan by right click > CrowdStrike Falcon malware scan > Stop Scan)

2.) Select CrowdStrike Falcon malware scan

3.) Select Scan, Scan all drives, or Scan system drive

4.) After selecting scan a notification will pop-up starting the scan.

During the scan, if something malicious/suspicious is found the user would see a pop-up message.

5.) When the scan is complete and no malicious files are found another notification will pop-up.

6.) Scan results can also be found on the desktop itself. You can find scan results on the desktop by Right Clicking > Select CrowdStrike Falcon malware scan > View Details

What if I need to disconnect the USB storage device while a scan is running?

If you need to eject / disconnect the device before a scan completes (only should apply to very large drives) you can right click on the desktop and choose CrowdStrike Falcon Malware Scan - Pause Scan then disconnect the device.

Cybersecurity

As we use technology in new ways, cybersecurity becomes even more critical in both our personal and professional lives. Cybersecurity for You (C4U) is the university’s cybersecurity awareness platform, managed by the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation. The platform offers learning activities and actionable techniques to help users live a safer digital life. Open to all university faculty and staff, C4U can be accessed through any mobile device, laptop, and/or desktop computer. New activities are released quarterly, and each activity completed gets users one step closer to obtaining a variety of digital rewards.  

For more information on using university computing resources, review the View the Responsible Use Policy. This policy provides guidance for establishing responsibilities and limitations associated with the use of university computing resources. 

If you have any questions regarding downloading software contact the IT Service Desk via

• Phone: 614-688-4357 (select option 3 for MITS partners)
• Email: servicedesk@osu.edu
• Self Service: go.osu.edu/it