Tech Corner

Tech Corner

IT reaches out, seeks input through discussion forums

Working to improve communications between its staff and the Rice community, the division of Information Technology (IT) hosts discussion forums each semester, inviting departmental representatives from across the campus to meet IT managers and directors. These informal gatherings provide an opportunity for faculty and staff to voice concerns, ask for help with specific issues or express general computing support needs. For example, during the Jan. 18 discussion forum for department coordinators and administrators, a hot topic of conversation was how to reduce the amount of electronic junk e-mail, or spam. Attendees learned that IT is in the final stages of testing a spam filter to serve the entire campus. The next discussion forum is for deans and department chairs and will be held Feb. 24, but IT welcomes input and feedback at anytime. E-mail comments or suggestions to <ITinput@rice.edu> or contact the Help Desk at 713-348-HELP.

Simple measures can keep computer viruses away

Although people have come to believe that computer viruses are the digital world’s plague, most viruses aren’t the computer-killing nemeses they’re made out to be. With the right safeguards in place, they can be little more than occasional annoyances.

All Rice faculty, students and staff can easily access one safeguard — virus protection software — for free at <http://software.is.rice.edu/>. Available for both Windows and Macintosh platforms, McAfee’s VirusScan automatically checks a user’s e-mail, attachments, disks and downloads for viruses and worms and quarantines any potentially harmful programs. VirusScan also updates itself any time the user connects to the Internet, allowing the program to stay ahead of the latest virus outbreaks.

The expiration date of the campus McAfee license in December 2004 prompted a review of several different antivirus software applications. “McAfee was still the best solution for Rice, and we renewed the license for 2005,” said Rick Nelson, manager for IT procurement and vendor relations. “However, we will continue to evaluate products to ensure that we are meeting the needs of the university.”

VirusScan is an effective tool to shield a computer from viruses, but additional steps will maximize protection.
The most important step is to keep a computer’s operating system updated with current patches from the operating system vendor by using the automatic updates feature in Windows or the software update feature on the Mac.

Set e-mail filters to weed out spam, and never download files of suspect content.

Avoid file-sharing or print-sharing or, when sharing, use good passwords (for example, strings of mixed-case, alphanumeric characters) and keep them private.

Help Desk Supervisor Rick Russell said everyone should put up defenses against malicious software. “People might think that the only secure computer system is one that is disconnected from the Internet, in a locked room, with the power turned off,” he said. “But such a computer is useless; the reason we own computers is to take advantage of the rich communication facilities of the Internet, even if it is more dangerous to be connected.”

Russell keeps up with emerging viruses, both on campus and off, and alerts the Rice community via e-mail whenever a potential problem arises.

For more information about past alerts and general computer safety tips, visit <www.rice.edu/it/security/virus/>.