Responsible Student Computer Practices

All MC Students should read and be familiar with the
 Maryville College Network and Computer Use Policy 

As a student computer user on the MC network you have a responsibility both to yourself and to your fellow students to keep your computer safe and secure.  By keeping your computer safe and secure you can help to ensure fewer network problems as well as faster internet connectivity for everyone.  

There are four basic ways of securing your computer: 

• Protect against viruses

• Protect against spyware/adware

• Updating Windows/Anti-Virus programs

• Debunking hoaxes

• Protecting Personal Information

Protect Against Viruses

What are viruses and why should you be concerned with them? Below is a list from McAfee's Anti-Virus website of the three basic kinds of viruses which might infect your computer.

What is a Virus?
A virus is a manmade program or piece of code that causes an unexpected, usually negative, event. Viruses are often disguised games or images with clever marketing titles such as "Me, nude."

What is a Worm?
Computer Worms are viruses that reside in the active memory of a computer and duplicate themselves. They may send copies of themselves to other computers, such as through email or Internet Relay Chat (IRC).

What is a Trojan Horse?
A Trojan horse program is a malicious program that pretends to be a benign application; a Trojan horse program purposefully does something the user does not expect. Trojans are not viruses since they do not replicate, but Trojan horse programs can be just as destructive.

Many of these viruses do nothing more than search the network and try to spread to other computers.  Other viruses spread themselves through e-mail, and often the user sending out virus infected e-mails do not realize they are doing so.  While this sounds harmless enough, keep in mind that once the virus spreads to enough PCs on the network, the traffic the virus causes can slow down and even disable any "normal" web browsing and internet connectivity.  Thus it is critical that you install and maintain an up-to-date anti-virus package.

Anti-Virus Packages can be purchased/downloaded at the following websites:

McAfee Anti-Virus http://www.mcafee.com

Norton Anti-Virus http://www.norton.com

Free AVG Anti-Virus http://support.maryvillecollege.edu

If you already have an anti-virus solution installed on your computer it is essential that you keep it updated.  New viruses are released weekly and only by keeping your virus definitions up-to-date can you ensure that you will be protected.

Protect Against Spyware/Adware

Updating Windows/Anti-Virus Programs

As mentioned before, keeping your virus definitions up-to-date is a vital part of being a responsible computer user.  However, responsible computing does not end there.  For users with a Windows based operating system , Microsoft provides frequent updates, patches and fixes to help the operating system to run trouble free and fluidly.  The Windows update site can be found at http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp.  You can also easily access this website by clicking the Start button on your computer, and selecting the Windows Update icon.  A weekly self-check for new Windows updates and fixes is an integral part of a responsible computer user's practices.

Debunking Hoaxes

A new trend on the internet is hoax e-mails.  A hoax e-mail is described on the Hoaxbuster's website:

Interspersed among the junk mail and spam that fills our Internet e-mail boxes are dire warnings about devastating new viruses, Trojans that eat the heart out of your system, and malicious software that can steal the computer right off your desk. Added to that are messages about free money, children in trouble, and other items designed to grab you and get you to forward the message to everyone you know. Most all of these messages are hoaxes or chain letters. While  hoaxes do not automatically infect systems like a virus or Trojan, they are still time consuming and costly to remove from all the systems where they exist. 

Many of the e-mails appear to come from valid sources such as Microsoft or Symantec.  Many of them warn of viruses and implore you to delete certain files off of your computer, and to spread the word to everyone you know.  Often times the files they request you to delete are vital operating system files, and cause your PC to function incorrectly if deleted.  So, how do you know if the "urgent" e-mail you just received is a hoax or not?  We suggest visiting http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBHoaxIndex.html.  They have a fairly comprehensive list of known hoax e-mails, updated regularly.  By being aware of the danger of hoax e-mails and not spreading the "panic" many of them intend to cause, you can help yourself and those you know to protect against the hoaxes.

Protecting Personal Information

Online communities such as Facebook an MySpace are great tools for networking and connecting with people who share similar experiences and likes as your own.  However, more and more these sites are used for information gathering by a number of entities, including stalkers, SPAMmers, employers and even law enforcement.

As a student of liberal arts, you should strive to educate yourself on appropriate use of internet community sites and such, to ensure you are a responsible computer user.

A simple rule of thumb to follow is this: Never post anything to the internet that you wouldn't want your parents or potential employers to see.