Department of Animal Science

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Five Simple Things

by Paul Sittler

Five simple things that computer users should do to prevent problems. . .

Network security problems have been very expensive for us all. Viruses and worms have cost us a tremendous amount of time, while creating confusion, lost work, and frustration.

Almost all such incidents are easily preventable - by computer users!

After reviewing network security incidents over the last few years, there are five simple things that computer users should do that would have prevented almost all of them:

User Responsibilities for Security
Five Simple Things. . .
  1. Maintain Operating System patches to stay current. [6.02]
  2. Use Anti-Virus programs as appropriate. Keep it up to date. [6.02]
  3. Surf responsibly. [3.01]
  4. Use e-mail responsibly. [6.02]
  5. Use responsible passwords and safeguard them. [4.02]
(the numbers referenced above in brackets correspond to TCE InfoSec Policy sections)

The above procedures are the responsibility of each computer user. They are time-tested, reliable, and easy to implement.

If we all did these "Five Simple Things", we'd have far fewer problems and wasted time.

By the way, they are not just good ideas, they are actually required by our "INFORMATION SECURITY, COMPUTER USE, AND SOFTWARE INSTALLATION/USE" policies, which can be found here.