protecting your COMPUTER
To keep your computer protected and to help keep our network clean, all student-owned computers should have the following applied to their computers. It is critical that anti-virus software and operating system updates be done before arriving on campus and plugging into the Housing ResNet network.
1) Anti-Virus Software. All student-owned computers must have current anti-virus software loaded on their computer. In addition, it should be updated and run frequently. If you do not have any AV software, UWGB has an agreement with MacAfee which allows a student to download the full version of the software for free. For more information, go to virus protection.
2) Operating System Updates. Make sure you have all the latest critical security updates installed for your Operating System.
Microsoft Windows - http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
Mac OS - http://www.info.apple.com/
3) Firewalls. If running Windows XP, make sure your Internet Connection Firewall is enabled. (Start, Settings, Control Panel, Windows Firewall)
4) Disable or Uninstall Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Software. Do not share or serve out files with any Peer-to-Peer software (ex: Kazaa, Gnutella) or allow other users to download files from your computer.
The RIAA (http://www.riaa.org), MPAA (http://www.mpaa.org), and other industry groups actively search the Internet for persons who are making files available for sharing. If they discover a computer located on campus that is doing this, the campus will receive an infringement notice. If infringement notices are received that are traced back to your computer, you will lose network privileges for not less than seven days (first notification) and up to thirty days or more (for second and subsequent notices). For second or more offenses, you will be required to meet with the campus Judicial Affairs Officer before your network access will be restored. Copyright infringement can result in other academic discipline as well.
Students who allow others to use their wireless routers should realize that they are responsible for any network traffic that goes through their router. By default, most wireless routers will allow anyone to use the device to access the network. This is why it is very important that you register your wireless device with the Computer Service Center before you use the router.
Students must be aware of the legal action they also can face for copyright infringement. Numerous students across the nation have been sued, found guilty of infringement, and been forced to pay damages exceeding $100,000. Numerous other students have been offered settlement opportunities for their infringement in the range of $3,000 to $4,000. Copyright infringement is a serious issue to the recording industry and also to the University. Copyright infringement can be a costly issue to you.
Students are encouraged to use legal commercial file download sites including:
Amazon (http://www.amazon.com)
iTunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/download)
Napster (http://www.napster.com)
Netflix (http://www.netflix.com)
Rhapsody (http://www.rhapsody.com)
Please note that there are some other Internet sites that charge a monthly or yearly access fee to access their site to share or download files that will result in you violating copyright laws if you download or upload files to the site. When selecting sites, your should carefully review their “terms of service” to make sure that the site abides by copyright law.
5) Spyware removal. To remove Spyware programs and pop-up windows, install and run spyware removal software. We recommend Adaware SE and Spybot's Search & Destroy
Peer-to-Peer applications like Kazaa and BitTorrent, as well as other software like BonziBuddy, WeatherBug, Webshot, etc. can cause harm to your computer by installing spyware or viruses. This can slow your computer down by taking up system resources. Learn what you can do about spyware.
6) Defragmenting your Hard Drive. Is your computer not running as fast as it did at first? One way to help get some speed back is to defragment your hard drive.
Windows has its own defragmenter that does a decent job. It can be found in the start menu under "Accessories" and "System Tools". A good pre-defrag tip is to empty your Internet cache before you run a defragmenter. Those files are constantly being updated and deleted anyway, and there is no reason to waste time defragging them. It's also wise to empty your cache before you do a virus scan and use Ad-Aware to scan for spyware. Associated folders become filled with thousands of tiny files, and it wastes a lot of time to scan those.
To empty your cache:
Open Internet Explorer.
Go to the "Tools" menu and select Internet Options.
Click 'Delete Files' and then click OK.
Wait several seconds as files are deleted, and then click OK again.
You must REGISTER your Wireless Router with the Computer Service Center