Securing Your ComputerWith the recent proliferation of viruses and worms, it is important for members of the Babson community to take precautions to ensure a safe computing environment. ITSD has taken and will continue to take steps to secure Babson's network and the Babson-owned computers connected to it. However, as an open institution, Babson does not deny access to computers personally owned by students, faculty and staff. As a result, we are asking all users to take the time to understand how to update their computers, and to take steps to ensure that they are as secure as possible. The most important things you can do to secure your computer are:
Install, Use and Update Virus Protection
Antivirus protection is the most effective way to protect your system. ITSD has worked out licensing with Symantec to make Symantec Antivirus available for download for faculty, staff and students to use on their personally owned computers at no charge. The Symantec AntiVirus download will require a valid Babson username and password.
Once you have installed Symantec Antivirus on your personally owned system, be sure to update the virus definitions regularly, since vendors of antivirus software update their products constantly in response to new threats. In particular, if you hear of a new threat in the media, make sure you update your software immediately.
Install Critical Updates to Your Operating System
Microsoft regularly issues updates to its operating systems. Keep abreast of these changes and download the appropriate updates by going to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. You do not need to install every patch that they list, but you should install anything considered a critical update.
Keep Your Private Information Private
As you browse the web, many sites attempt to collect information about what you are doing. Some of this is benign, such as cookies which maintain user information, and some is not so benign, such as attempts to capture your username and password, or other private information. Spyware is the term commonly applied to these malicious programs. Sometimes Spyware is installed on your system by websites you browse to, or it may be installed when you download software from the web.
To protect yourself from Spyware, you can install an anti-Spyware program, which is similar to an anti-Virus program. While ITSD does not offer or support anti-Spyware software at the moment, there are a number of shareware and freeware programs available. Two popular anti-Spyware programs are Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy. To download these programs, you can go to their publisher's websites:
Note: The above programs do not scan your files in real-time. It is therefore recommended that you update them and run a spyware scan at least once a month.
Remember, a proactive approach can help you avoid serious problems, but given the nature of computer hackers, there is no way to guarantee complete security. However, following these steps can significantly limit your exposure to problems.
What If My Computer Becomes a Network Problem?
If your computer becomes infected with one of these worms or viruses and starts to negatively impact the network, we will attempt to contact you to help you correct the problem. However, there may be situations where the damage caused is sufficient that we can't delay. In those cases, ITSD may deny your computer access to the Babson network until such time as the computer is fixed. If you suspect that your computer has been denied access to the network, contact the IT Service Center at x4357 (HELP) and they can help you proceed.
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