IAB IT/Computer Support

A Guide To Keeping Your Computer Safe

These pages are designed to help you keep your computer safe while on the Internet. For more detail, select a topic from the Safe Computing Topics list to the right.

Security Upates

1. Keep Your Operating System Updated: Use Windows Update (XP, Vista and Windows 7) or Software Update (Mac OS X) to keep your system patched and protected.
2. Antivirus/Spyware Protection: Make sure that you have the most current version of your antivirus and antispyware software, and keep the virus definitions up to date.
3. Firewall Software: Firewalls are built-in to modern operating systems -- make sure that yours is turned on.
4. Secure Browser: Use a secure browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Opera, because Internet Explorer has many vulnerabilities.

Routine Maintenance Tasks

1. Regular Backups: Hard drives are prone to failure, so it is important to have copies of your data on another drive or computer.
2. Regular Software Updates: It is important to check regularly for updates to the following types of programs. Most programs have a "Check for Updates" option, usually on the Help menu.
   1. Operating System
   2. Antivirus/Anti-Spyware Software
   3. Browser
   4. Email Client (if you use one)
3. Use Disk Cleanup (Windows): Temporary files build up over time and can slow down a computer. A good (free) alternative is CCleaner by Piriform.
4. Defragment Your Disks: Once updates are performed and temporary files are deleted, defragging your hard drives will increase the speed of disk access and reduce the potential for hardware malfunction. A good (free) alternative is Defraggler by Piriform.

Set up your computer if it is not already set up.

Most new desktop computers have color coded cables and easy to follow set up charts. You may need to get some cables that might not be included (see Genelle or Wendy in the IAB stockroom, 108 Irving I):

1. USB cable for a USB printer. These printers are inexpensive, and sometimes don’t include a cable.
2. Ethernet cable (Category 5 or higher). If you are going to connect to the UAF network and the internet, a Cat 5 cable is required. It looks like a telephone cable, but with 8 contacts rather than 4.

Get your computer connected to the network

1. Connect the Ethernet cable from the Network Interface Card on your computer to the network plug on the wall. Look on the back for blinking lights (may be green or amber) to make sure that the port is active. Not all ports are active – if you don’t have an active port in your office, call the help desk at x8300. (If you are in WRRB, call the CR Helpdesk at x6800 or Paul Delys at x7090.)
2. Open your browser and make sure that you can browse to any page on the network (try www.uaf.edu). You should get the main UAF web page.
3. If the computer has not been registered to the UAF network you may need to register it before you can connect to the Internet. The Network Registration page should come up the first time you start a browser. You will need to already have a valid email address for this step.
   1. Read the text of the agreement.
   2. Click on "Scan my Machine"
   3. On the next page, make sure that "UAF email account" is selected, enter your email address and password, then click "Submit".
   4. Reboot your machine, and it will be registered to the network.
   5. This only needs to be done once, but if you have a wireless card on a laptop, you may need to separately register both the wireless and the wired network cards.

Obtain your new email address and activate your account.

1. Your email account will usually be in the form UAusername@alaska.edu, where UAusername is usually your first and middle initials, followed by the first six letters of your last name. If there are duplicates, an integer may be appended after your name.
2. You can also create a vanity email, or “real name” alias, such as john.smith@alaska.edu. Visit the Enterprise Directory (eDir) site (https://edir.alaska.edu/) and log in to add one, or call the Help Desk (x8300) to get one.
3. You can find out what your email address is by going to ELMO (the Easy Login Maintenance Option): https://elmo.alaska.edu/. You can use ELMO to change your password as well. If you have problems, call the Help Desk at x8300.
4. You can activate your account on ELMO, if it has not yet been activated.

Update your Operating System.

Make sure that you have the latest updates and patches for your operating system.

1. Windows XP: Open Internet Explorer. Click Tools | Windows Update. Follow the directions, and install all critical updates.
2. Windows 7 and Vista: Open Control Panel. If View is set to Category, click System and Security, then Windows Update. If View is set to Large or Small icons, just click Windows Update. Install all critical updates.
3. Mac OS X: Open System Preferences and click on Software Update. Follow the directions, and install any security-related updates.

Download and install Symantec Endpoint Protection.

Symantec Endpoint Protection provides both anti-virus and anti-spyware protection for both Windows and Macintosh computers. UAF has a site license for Symantec Endpoint Protection, which is available for download. If you choose to use a different AV program, you can skip the rest of this page and go on to the next tab.

1. First, check your computer to see if it has another brand of antivirus software.
   1. Click on Start | All Programs and look for applications from Avast, AVG, ClamWin, MacAfee, Norton, Panda, PC-Cillin, Symantec, Trend-Micro, etc. If you find any existing antivirus programs, go to Start | Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs (XP) or Programs and Features (Win7) and remove the software. It is important to remove existing AV software before installing a new AV program, because they will conflict and may make your computer unusable.
   2. If you can't find anything under Add/Remove Programs, but you know that there is an antivirus program running, click on Start | All Programs and open the program's folder. Look for an Uninstall or Remove Program command there.
2. If you have inherited a computer that already has Symantec Antivirus installed, check the version number by going to Start > All Programs > Symantec Antivirus Client and looking for the version number. As of 18 November 2011, the current version is 11.0. If your version is less than that, download and install the newer version (see next step). 
3. Get the client: Go to the Windows software page or the Macintosh software page to download and install the Symantec software.
4. The installer should also update the virus definitions automatically, but if it doesn't, run Live Update by clicking on the Live Update button. The definition file should have either the current or yesterday's date. You will need an internet connection for this step.
5. Go to Scan for threats and make sure you have a scan scheduled to run daily or weekly, at a time that the computer will be turned on. If you have a new computer, go to the next tab. If you inherited your computer, or got it from surplus, run a Full Scan immediately.

Send your biographic infomation to the Web Team.

1. This information will be included on the main Faculty and Staff page of the IAB web site, and includes things like name, title, office, phone number, research interests and a photo (if you have one). If you don't have a photo, someone will take one of you, maybe when you are least expecting it!
2. Click on the Submit Your Info link to send this information to the webmaster.
3. This form may be used by faculty, affiliates, research associates, emeriti, staff, and students.

The Internet is both a wonderful tool that has made information much more accessible and made our lives easier; and wild place, inhabited by less than savory characters. Because of the latter, computer security has become an extremely important topic. We can think of computer security as a four-legged stool. If one leg is missing, the stool may still stand up, but it is much less stable. If more than one leg are missing, the stool is unstable and will fall over. These four legs are comprised of four types of computer programs: operating system updates, antivirus programs, firewalls, and antispyware programs. To make sure that your computer is reasonably safe, you should have most or all of these programs on your computer and actively running.

• Operating System Updates: Both Microsoft Windows and Apple MacIntosh provided automated downloads of system software.
  • For Windows XP, go to the Windows Update (in IE, click on Tools > Windows Update) site to download any updates that are not yet on your computer. If you don't have Automatic updates turned on, you should check at least once a month (second Tuesady of each month) for new updates.
  • For Windows Vista and Windows 7, go to Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Update.
  • For MacIntosh OS X, open Software Update from System Preferences. Here, you can set the interval between update checks (I think a week is the default). You can also check immediately.
  • For automatic updates to work, you need to leave your computer on most or all of the time.
  Recommendation: Set Update to Automatic, or update manually on the second Tuesday of each month.
• Antivirus: Symantec Endpoint Protection is available to all campus computers as a download from OIT (Office of Information Technology) — you will have to log in using your UA username and password to access the download site. If you prefer to use your own, there are good ones on the market, such as McAfee, Panda, and PC-Cillin. Microsoft provides a free antivirus/antispyware program called Microsoft Security Essentials that is getting good reviews. Recommendation: Symantec Endpoint Protection or MS Security Essentials.
• Spyware/Adware Detection and Removal: Many web sites and downloadable software put hidden programs, called spyware or adware, onto your computer. These programs track what you are doing, and report back to the main website or company. The original intent was so that companies could serve advertising to you, based on your surfing and search habits. A more malicious intent is to record your keystrokes, crack your password, and take over your computer to use as a spam zombie. Most spyware falls somewhere in between. Regardless, spyware slows down your computer and may cause conflicts among programs. Recommendation: Symantec Endpoint Protection or MS Security Essentials.
• Firewall: behind the UAF firewall is relatively safe, but most folks run a software firewall as well. If you are not behind a hardware firewall (such as your home computer, or a laptop that is sometimes at home and sometimes on campus), a software firewall is essential. These programs will alert you if an unknown program tries to access the Internet (behavior common in worms and Trojan horses). Zone Alarm is one of the best of the third party firewalls. Recommendation: ONE of the following - Windows Firewall, Mac OSX Firewall, or Zone Alarm.

Browser and Email Security

Another major issue is the security (or lack thereof) of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Many web sites are designed for IE and will not work properly if you don't browse with it. However, partly because IE is so intertwined with the Windows operating system, and partly because of the insecurity of ActiveX, it is one of the most insecure browsers available. Other browsers that are more secure are Mozilla Firefox browser and Mozilla Thunderbird email client (see below), Netscape, Opera, Lynx, etc. If you are tired of all the exploits and updates for IE, try out Firefox. Recommendation: Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox (browser), Mozilla Thunderbird (email client).

1. Back Up Your Data: There are two kinds of computer users: those who have lost data, and those who will lose data. There are many options for backup strategies, ranging from floppy disks to CD-Rs to external hard drives to networked drives to full-fledged tape backup hardware. Regardless of the method, you should back up as often as you are comfortable losing data.
2. Use Disk Cleanup or CCleaner: A byproduct of computer use is that temporary files get created by many types of software, and they are often not deleted. For example, Windows keeps a shortcut to every file you open or view. These shortcuts are stored in lists called MRU (most recently used), and are listed on the Start Menu and in the File menu of many programs (e.g. Word). To remove most of this, go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup and run the program. It will scan your hard drive for any files that it considers expendable. You can then choose which ones to delete. (Note that the scan process takes several minutes. Be patient.)
3. Defragment Your Disks: As you use your computer, creating, saving, moving, and deleting files, your hard drive slowly becomes fragmented. This happens because the operating system saves files in the first available space on the hard drive. If the file won't fit into that space, the OS will fill that space with part of the file, then look for the next available space, and so on. Over time, files can become very fragmented. In order to counter this trend, go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter and run the defrag program. It may take a while, depending on the size of the drive, the amount of defragmentation, and the speed of the computer.
4. Regular Software Updates
   1. Operating System: Set your computer to automatically install updates, to download automatically and let you know, or check for new updates weekly. Updates to Windows are posted on the second Tuesday of each month,or more often if necessary. To manually update Windows, go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com (you must use Internet Explorer to access the Windows Update page).
   2. MS Office (if you use it) : Office isn't updated as often as Windows, but check for updates every now and then. You can find a link to the Office update page on the Windows Update page, or go to http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdate/ (again, you must use Internet Explorer to access the Office Update page). If you have never updated Office, please do so immediately, as there is a critical patch that came out in October 2004. A better solution is to install MS Update, a replacement for Windows Update that will update Office as well. Go to the Windows Update page at the link above, and you will be offered the option.
   3. Antivirus Software: If you have your antivirus program in managed mode (you can tell because the Live Update button is disabled), you don't have to do anything here. The software will check for virus definition updates periodically and install them. If your program is in unmanaged mode (i.e., Live Update works), you should click on Live Update at least weekly.
   4. Anti-Spyware Software: Update and scan weekly. Spyware has recently been labeled the #1 public enemy for IT, displacing viruses and worms. Please stay current with updates and scan your computer often.
   5. Browser: If you use Internet Explorer, Windows Update will also update IE. If you use Mozilla or Firefox, there is an update button under Help > Check for Updates. For users of Netscape, I believe that you have to download the new version from the web and install it.
   6. Email Client: If you use Outlook, it will be updated when you update Office. If you use Thunderbird, there is an update button underHelp > Check for Updates. For users of Eudora and Netscape, I believe that you have to download the new version from the web and install it.
   7. Firewall: If you use the Windows Firewall, Windows Update will update the firewall. If you use Zone Alarm, there is a button on the main page to check for updates.
5. After updating your antivirus and antispyware, you should generally run a scan. Symantec Antivirus takes quite a while, so you might want to start a scan before going to lunch or leaving for the day. If you do this, run the antispyware scans first.

People often ask why computer security matters, when they don't have valuable data on their computer. See this infographic for some of the many ways that cyber criminals can make money from your computer.

High res PDF