Category: Software

Faculty/Staff, Security, Software, Students, Tips

Important (but easy) Tips for Office Computer Security

Nick

Hackers especially love the holidays because there are lots of new, unprotected computers to compromise and silently take over. Even without new computers to exploit, there has been an alarming increase in the amount of malware (viruses, spyware, etc.) being installed recently on Swarthmore community systems. The following tips will help keep your existing computer (regardless of operating system), and especially new out-of-the-box systems, more resistant to viruses, spyware and other malware. These tips are crucial to protecting the contents and integrity of your office computer. Of course, these tips also apply to your home computer. For more security tips, … Continue reading Important (but easy) Tips for Office Computer Security

Security, Software

Tis the Season to… PATCH!

Nick

There have been a lot of patches/fixes released recently for various applications and operating systems. It’s ALWAYS important to apply these patches as soon as they become available. Why? Because someone somewhere will be trying to compromise your computer via these unpatched weaknesses. Most often, simply browsing a web site can be enough to infect your machine. Some operating systems and applications are pretty good at automatically upgrading when patches become available. Others, not so much. One recently released, important patch is the fix for Internet Explorer’s latest security hole. If configured correctly, your Windows PC should’ve already downloaded and … Continue reading Tis the Season to… PATCH!

Faculty/Staff, Software

Faculty & Staff: Want to use MS Office on your home computer?

admin

As part of our Campus Agreement with Microsoft, faculty and staff are now permitted to install Microsoft Office applications on personally owned computers. There will be a charge to you for the use of the software but it will be much less than what you would pay for the Academic boxed version. To order your copy of the software, you will need a special link and program code. This information and complete instructions will be distributed to all faculty and staff in the Faculty-Staff Digest on Thursday, December 18th. Please watch for this email and contact the help desk if … Continue reading Faculty & Staff: Want to use MS Office on your home computer?

Public Computing, Security, Software, Tips

Important Security Warning for Internet Explorer Users

Nick

UPDATE: Microsoft has released a patch for this important security hole. Your Windows PC should’ve installed the patch already (indicated by a pesky need to reboot). If not or if you’re unsure, you can run Microsoft Update (or Windows Update) or go to the Microsoft Download Center. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A security exposure was recently discovered within Internet Explorer (IE) that could allow malicious software to be installed on your computer without your knowledge. There is virtually no limit to what this malicious software could do once installed but might include logging user keystrokes, stealing passwords, etc. Simply browsing an infected or … Continue reading Important Security Warning for Internet Explorer Users

Email, Security, Software, Tips

Open an Unanticipated PDF File, Infect Your PC!

Nick

Most everyone knows not to open executables (e.g., .exe, .bat, etc.) and documents (e.g., .doc, .xls, .ppt, .html, etc.) received via email when they’re not expected. However, did you know that Adobe Acrobat documents (.pdf) fall into the same category?? It’s quite straightforward for an attacker to invisibly modify a pdf document in such a way that it takes control of your PC when you open it. Unfortunately, anti-virus programs won’t always detect these malicious pdf documents accurately. There are two ways to protect yourself: 1. Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe software (go to Help and … Continue reading Open an Unanticipated PDF File, Infect Your PC!

Help Desk, Security, Software

Don’t Ignore the Windows Update Shield!!

Nick

If you’re a Windows user, did you ever wonder what the periodic appearance of a yellow shield on your task bar means? When you have Windows Automatic Update enabled (and you definitely should!), your PC will regularly check with Microsoft to see if any new software fixes or patches are available to download and install. Generally, Microsoft releases patches for Windows systems on every second Tuesday of the month (affectionately known, by some, as “patch Tuesday”). Your PC should detect the availability of patches on patch Tuesday and download/install them to your computer. Oftentimes, your PC will need to be … Continue reading Don’t Ignore the Windows Update Shield!!