Viruses

In order to avoid losing important information (such as class assignments and papers), it is important that you aware of the potential threat of viruses.

1) Do not open email attachments from people you don't know. Email is the new favorite way to transmit viruses, so be careful. If you receive a suspicious email, either delete it or be sure to run VirusScan on it first, to ensure safety.

2) Scan disks often with VirusScan in the computer labs. Lab computers have high amounts of traffic, meaning hundreds of floppy disks are in and out every day, opening the door for potential virus infection. It is wise to scan your disk before opening files and after completing your work.

3) Create backups. Always create backup copies of important documents either on your home computer or on another floppy disk. Save your work often. Duplicate copies on separate disks. We cannot stress this enough. Make sure you have backup copies of your documents!

Choose a good password

Your network account is required to have a password to keep other people out of your account. If someone can gain access to your account, they can delete your files, read your mail, and even mess things up so that you will not be able to log in again.

A secure password is very important on all network accounts. If someone from outside the school gains access to your account, they can use it to maliciously attack the whole system.

To choose a secure password, consider the following:

• Your password should be at least six but not more than eight characters long.
• Your password should contain combinations of numbers, UPPER and lower case letters. Some of Whitman's network services don't work well with passwords containing special characters (! @ #, etc) so for Whitman passwords, we recommend avoiding those.
• Do not use names or words found in a dictionary as your password. This includes foreign languages! Most password cracking programs use dictionaries to try to break in.

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