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Protecting Yourself & Your Work

Updated April 18, 2002

For a more secure password, use at least six characters with symbols and numbers - for example, instead of the word "apple" use "#apple4" or "1$apple." Avoid dictionary words, dates, pet or child names, words like password, Michigan, Blue, your uniqname, or other easily guessed or cracked character strings. Using your pet or child's name, the words Michigan, UM, blue, password, or your uniqname are easily guessed and therefore not secure choices.

For help selecting a secure password, see Choosing and Changing a Secure UMICH Password (R1162).

Related Topic: For instructions on how to change your password, see Managing Your Accounts - Changing Your Password.

Update Your Anti-Virus Software at Work

It is important to keep your computer up to date with the most current virus protection.

There are hundreds of new viruses every week. If you have outdated virus protection, your computer, and all other computers on our network, are placed at risk.

All Business School Computers should have McAfee Virus Scan software installed and active. McAfee's virus data files are typically updated automatically every week on Thursdays but only on computers that are logged into the Network at that time. Occasionally this upgrade includes an "engine" update of the actual software.

If you miss a regular Thursday update, you can wait for the next Thursday (not recommended) or easily do a manual update: double click on the Magnifying Glass icon in your system tray. This will open the Virus Scan Console. Double click on the Auto Upgrade item in the list, then click on the Run Now button.

Update Your Anti-Virus Software on Your Laptop or Home Computer

Update your personal anti-virus software regularly. If your protection is outdated, you are unprotected and put yourself and others at risk.

Be sure to update your anti-virus software regularly on your home personal computer or laptop.

If you need anti-virus software, as a member of the University you can install MacAfee's Virus Scan on your personal computers. The McAfee installation package is available on the ITCS Blue Disc CD available from the Kresge Library Reserve Desk, the Lab Assistants or the Helpdesk, or you can install a version from ITCS which is set to automatically update when you the connect to the Internet. This auto-update version is linked from the Software - Virus Protection page in the Technology site. The McAfee web site provides Virus Scan updates weekly if you do not use the auto-update package.

Virus Prevention Smart Practices

It is important that every member of our community observes anti-virus practices.

The Business School has been hit by several viruses over the last several years by members not following these simple rules of thumb:

Do not open attachments (or messages) that you are not expecting, even if it appears to be from someone you know. Many "worm" viruses spread by using the personal e-mail address book on the infected computer, so it can appear to come from that sender. At this point in time, you cannot get a virus from opening the email message, only the attachment. If in doubt and you want to open it, check with the sender first to confirm they really did send it to you.
Do not download executable program files of questionable origin. Many viruses are spread by attaching to programs that launch the virus when the program is run.
Do not spread hoax warnings - check with your IT department first.
Do not rely on anti-virus software to protect you from the above - viruses are designed to circumvent the current protection.
Be sure to keep your anti-virus software as up to date as possible. Typically vendors provide updates weekly or sometimes daily when new viruses hit.
For other tips and information about Viruses, see the Software - Virus Protection page in the Technology site.

Related Topic: See the Updating Your Anti-Virus Software... topics above.

Backup Your Files

Digital data can easily be corrupted and lost. Don't ever keep just one copy of a file if it is important.

Here are some options:

The old standard - make a backup copy on a floppy disk, zip disk, or jaz disk. Zip disks are like floppies except they can hold 100 or 250 MB instead of only 1.44MB! Jaz disks hold 1 gigabyte of data (but are significantly more expensive and less common than Zip disks). If you have large files that won't fit on floppies, consider using a zip or jaz disk. Most newer computers have zip drives installed. Zip and Jaz drives can be borrowed from Computing Services. You will want to develop your own system to do this regularly.
Save your files to a network drive. Private files should be saved in U:, other files can be saved in your department's folder on S: (also known as R:\Departments\Your Department Name). The network is backed up nightly and tapes are stored off site for disaster recovery.
If you are a Windows 2000 user, your My Documents folder automatically synchronizes with your U: drive network space when you log off the network. Files in this folder will automatically be stored on the network as described in #2.
Burn a backup copy on a CD. You will need a CD burner. This can be borrowed from Computing Services. CD Read/Write drives can be purchased for as little as a hundred dollars if you wish to use this as a regular backup system. This is preferred over a tape backup system.

Protecting Yourself & Your Work

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