Security Related Recommendations

The security and safety of your computer system is a joint effort between the technical support departments at Rutgers University and yourself.  It is important to understand what you should do on an ongoing basis to ensure that your system remains safe.  The following recommendations will help you keep your system running safely and securely and will also facilitate the recreation of your system should this become necessary either due to system failure or compromise:

1. Back up your important data regularly. You should keep important data on your networked drive (U Drive) to ensure that it is backed up regularly. If you are keeping data on a portable device, or on your home computer, that information should be backed up regularly (at least once a week). If you need advice or guidance on backing up important data, please let us know.
   
   

2. Protect your system with anti virus software.  All systems configured by the Information Technology Services Office at the Bloustein School have the site licensed Trend Micro Anti Virus program installed. You should ensure that you have updated anti virus software on your personal computers as well and the same license used at Rutgers can be used by faculty, staff, and students on their home systems. You can find more information about the Trend Micro Anti Virus prgram here. 
   
   

3. Perform a windows update once a week if you are using MS Windows. Or, if you have Windows 2000 or XP, setup automatic updates.  You can find instructions on how to setup Automatic Updates for Windows XP here.   
   
   

4. Be careful about opening attachments, clicking on links in SPAM messages, and browsing unfamiliar sites.  Many of the problems that users encounter are caused by virus infections or spyware/malware infestations.  These problems are normally the result of opening up infected attachments in emails or using links embedded in SPAM messages.  You should only open attachments that you are expecting.  If you have received an attachment from someone that you know and you are not expecting an attachment, you should check with them prior to opening the attachment. 
   
   In addition to attachments, embedded links in SPAM are also another main cause of spyware or malware infestations.  If you receive SPAM messages, you should never use any of the links in those messages, especially the links that appear to provide you with the ability to stop receiving those messages.  You should also be very careful about phishing attempts.  For more information on phishing, please see this page. 
   
   Another way your system can become infected with a virus or infested with spyware/malware is by visiting malicious web sites.  It is much more difficult to prevent problems caused by these sites, as users can stumble upon them.  However you should be careful where you go on the Internet as the safety of your computer depends upon it.      
   
   

5. Use good password practices. Keep your passwords private and ensure that they are not common words or names, but rather include a combination of letters, numbers, and punctuation.  A good recommendation is to use password phrases instead of passwords and in the phrases use both numbers and punctuation.  For example, the phrase In1972Iwasborn! is a strong password.  You should also choose passwords that you can remember easily and you should change your passwords regularly (at least 3-4 times a year).  You should also be very careful as to where you document your passwords. 
   
   

6. Maintain the physical security of your system. Physical security can include such measures as locking the system down with a locking cable, setting a bios password that is then required to start the system, setting screen saver passwords for instances when you may walk away from your system, as well as shutting down your system when you leave for the day.
   
   

7. Run spyware checking software regularly.  You can find information on a great spyware product here.  If you have used this program in the past, Ad Aware now has the ability to run updates and it is recommended that you install the latest version.  
   
   

8. Do not run file and print sharing, remote access programs, or peer-to-peer file sharing programs on your system. These programs can provide conduits for hackers to access your system.  If for any reason you need these programs for your work, please contact Computing Services to assist in developing a security model.
   
   

9. Install a Personal Firewall. If you connect your system to the Internet in any manner, you should install a personal firewall.  Please see this link for additional information.  
   
   

10. Use secure services whenever possible. Secure services include tools such as SSH, webdrive, and security enhancements to email.  You should also ensure that if you are entering any sensitive information onto a form, that it is using SSL.  You can determine this be checking the URL of the site you are on and ensuring that it is using an https prefix as opposed to an http prefix. Please see this link for information on installing and using SSH. Click here for information on using webdrive.
    
    

In addition to the above measures, additional security documentation has been created by RUCS and we recommend that you review this material. You can find this documentation here. There is also some detailed documentation designed for home users on the CERT web site and you can find this information here.