Computer Security Tips

Use the telephone to verify attachments before you open them. 

When you do get an attachment, please make sure that the sender sent one.  Many worms will impersonate co-workers and friends to send infected attachments and bogus messages.

Be aware that Morningside College will block all attachments entering or leaving the network that are larger than 5 megabytes and are file types known to transmit viruses.          

 

If you need to send or receive attachments, know what file type you are working with and learn procedures for masking their file name extensions.  For example, you can remove the extension and inform your receiver of the missing extension.  Zip files can be used to compress large files, but only if you mask their extension.  Call the recipient and tell them how to open the attachment. 

Disable spy-ware and ininstall unwanted programs.

Regular web surfing can install spy-ware on your machine.  Over time, these will slow your computer and create vulnerabilities to the network.  To discover and disable spy-ware install a spyware removal software such as Adaware SE. 

Adaware SE is available free for personal use at:

http://www.lavasoftusa.com

Directions on using it are available at:

http://webs.morningside.edu/andersonr/tutorial/adawarese.htm

Use a pop-up blocker.

From inside of Internet Explorer's, menu go to Tools,  Popup Blocker, and Turn On Pop-up Blocker.  In most cases the default settings will work fine. 

From inside of Firefox's menu, go to Tools, Options, Web Features, and Block Popup Windows. In most cases the default settings will work fine for Firefox as well.