Our University
workstations (as well as laptops you might bring from home to connect
to the network) are the subject of countless attacks designed to “break
into” them, primarily launched by individuals over the Internet. The
good news is that there are four basic steps that will prevent most
of these intrusions and compromises from happening.
Install and maintain
Norton Antivirus software on your University computer (For guidelines,
visit http://www.gsu.edu/security
and choose "Antivirus Protection.") The University provides
Norton Antivirus free of charge to all University employees and students.
The “real-time” protection feature of this software prevents 99% of
all viruses and Trojan Horse programs (malicious remote control programs)
from executing successfully. Scanning files you download from the
Internet or bring in from home is an important measure to take. Windows
Users: there is a simple check you need to make each day whenever
you begin to use your workstation—ensure that the gold shield icon
is visible at the bottom of your right-hand taskbar. If you don’t
see it or there is a red slash through it, you will want to investigate.
In the case of the shield not appearing, find out if the program is
still installed and reinstall it if necessary. You can get assistance
with this by contacting the Georgia State University helpdesk at 404-651-4507
or at help@gsu.edu. If you see a red slash over the gold shield icon,
right click and select Enable File System RealTime Protection. Again,
if this does not fix the problem, contact your IT staff members or
the Georgia State University helpdesk for assistance. To view the
University Antivirus Software Policy , visit .http://www.gsu.edu/%7Ewwwist/antivirussoftware.htm.
Select a “hard
to guess” password. For advice on selecting strong passwords, visit
http://www.gsu.edu/security
, click "Securing Personal Computers," and select the operating
system installed on your workstation. XP users should select Windows
2000, as the guidelines are similar for both.
Install security
fixes and updates on your workstation as the vendor of your operating
system makes them available. It is very important to ensure that you
install all of the recommended security updates on your University
workstations. Depending upon the Microsoft Windows operating system
you currently are operating, you may be notified when updates come
out or if not, you will want to select “start, Windows Update” from
the bottom left-hand corner of your Windows taskbar. Mac OSX users
are automatically notified when new updates come out and given the
opportunity to install them. Note: Check with your college or departmental
IT staff now to find out whether it is their policy to run the updates
for you or whether you are responsible for doing so.
Log out from the
network and shut down your workstation or activate a screen lock or
password-protected screen saver whenever you are away for extended
periods of time (For guidelines, visit http://www.gsu.edu/security
, click Securing Personal Computers," and select the operating
system installed on your workstation.)