Use of all University of Hawaii information Technology Resources are governed by
UH Executive Policy: E2.210 -- Use and Management of Information Technology Resources. Continued use of your UH Username and University Information Technology Resources indicated your acceptance of and agreement to E2.210. The complete policy can be found online at:
http://www.hawaii.edu/infotech/policies/itpolicy.html
A brief summary of Section III: "Principles of Responsible Use" are provided for your convenience. These examples are intended to illustrate the range of unacceptable actions rather than to exhaustively elaborate all specific behaviors that may violate this policy.
Users of University information technology resources should engage in responsible computing and network practices. All users must respect property, security mechanisms, right to privacy and freedom from intimidation, harassment and annoyance in accordance with all University policies and procedures.
- Users must adamantly protect their personal passwords.
- Users must respect the privacy of others' passwords, information and communications, and may not attempt to use University resources to gain unauthorized access to any site or network or to maliciously compromise the performance of internal or external systems or networks.
- No individual may falsely represent themselves or "spoof" another physical network connection.
- Users must observe all laws relating to copyright, trademark, export and intellectual property rights (Note: copying or sharing of copyrighted songs, movies, TV shows, software, games, etc. for purposes other than “fair use” as defined in the U.S. Copyright Law and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is illegal. See http://www.hawaii.edu/askus/813 for more information.)
- Users must ensure that their electronic communications do not infringe the rights of others and are conducted in accord with the same standards of behavior that apply in other forms of communication.
- University resources are intended to be used for institutional purposes and may not be used for private gain.
- Users may not engage in activities which compromise institutional systems or network performance for others.
Securing Your Computer:
- System updates. Regularly download and install operating system and application security patches from your software vendors. (Microsoft users, go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and click on Scan for Updates". Visit http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/update for more details. Apple users click on "Software Update" in "System Preferences")
- Use anti-virus software & UPDATE VIRUS DEFINITION FILES REGULARLY! Scan all files and email attachments before opening them. UH faculty, staff and students can download anti-virus software from http://www.hawaii.edu/antivirus/
- Make regular backups of critical data (and test your backups to ensure they are readable). Take advantage of your UH Username and backup your critical documents to your UNIX account.
- Use strong passwords. Do not leave passwords blank or use simple passwords. Change default passwords. For more information visit:
Password Guidelines and
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/strong_password.html
- Use a properly configured firewall as a gatekeeper between your computer and the Internet. The latest versions of Windows and OSX have built-in firewalls.
Warning: a misconfigured firewall can provide a false sense of security and will allow viruses, worms, and hackers into your computer. For more general information about firewalls, visit:
http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity and
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/firewall.htm
- Do not open email attachments from strangers AND be suspicious of any unexpected or unusual email from people you do know. Disable "previews", automatic viewing and downloading of attachments/files.
- Test your system for vulnerabilities. Use web-based vulnerability assessment tools such as:
http://www.symantec.com/securitycheck or
http://www.grc.com (click on "ShieldsUp")
- Do not run unnecessary services such as web servers (IIS), databases (MS SQL), Telnet, FTP, IRC, etc.
- Download software from reputable sources.
- Use anti-spyware, update the software frequently & scan your computer regularly for spyware.
- Visit only legitimate websites. Malicious websites can download and install malware on your computer turning it into a "spam generator" or or become part of a bot network which can be used to attack other machines.
- If you use P2P file sharing software:
- Remember that downloading and distributing copyrighted materials (songs, movies, software, games, etc.) is illegal and violates UH Executive Policy E2.210: Use and Management of Information Technology Resources.
- Know & monitor which directories and files are being shared.
For more detailed information about "Securing Your Desktop Computer", please read: http://www.hawaii.edu/askus/593
Protecting Your Information
- Do not reply to unsolicited (spam) email.
- Use free web-based email addresses (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) when subscribing to email lists (to minimize the amount of spam email you might recieve on your primary email account).
- Do not give out personal information (address, SSN, passwords, etc) in response to unsolicited requests.
- Protect your passwords.
- Encrypt or password-protect files that contain personal, confidential information such as tax return files, online banking information, etc. Use the encryption capabilities of your operating system or use other third party products such as PHP (http://www.pgp.com/downloads/desktoptrial.php) or TrueCrypt (http://www.truecrypt.org)
- Be suspicious of email from what appears to be a legitimate organization (such as Citibank, eBay, PayPal, FirstUSA, etc.) asking you to click on a link to update your personal information such as name, address, SSN, bank accounts, and credit card numbers. These are fraud schemes known as "phishing". Personal information gathered will be used/sold to commit fraudulent financial activities. Do NOT update your personal information by clicking on the link. if it seems legitimate, call the organization to verify the request and always type in the URL yourself. For more information on "phishing" visit:
http://www.onguardonline.gov/phishing.html
http://www.antiphishing.org
On-Line Transactions
- Do not use untrusted computers or wireless networks for personal/confidential transactions.
- Use only one credit card (with a low limit) for ALL online purchases.
- For all EFT (Electronic Funds Transfers) transactions, use only one checking account.
- Do not use your SSN if at all possible.
Preventing ID Theft & Fraud
- Do an annual credit check:
http://www.annualcreditreport.com/
- Watch for unauthorized charges.
- Verify that you are receiving all your credit card, bank and other financial statements every month.
- Don't send personal, credit card, or other financial information over email or IM.
- Use a cross-cut shredder to destroy your personal documents that contain sensitive information including pre-approved credit card offers.
- Report fraudulent activities to:
- For additional ID theft prevention tips, visit the State Attorney General's website: http://hawaii.gov/ag/hitec/main/Identity%20Theft/
Additional Resources
Information for this document compiled from:
http://www.hawaii.edu/infotech/policies/itpolicy.html
http://onguardonline.gov
http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/
http://www.us-cert.gov/
Last Reviewed July 2007
Last Updated: July 2007 Not the answer you were looking for? Try different keyword combinations and if you still can't find your answer, please
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Created: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 9:20am
Modified: Thu, 09 Oct 2008 3:48pm
