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Guidelines and Recommendations for Proper and Safe Use Of Technology and Computing Resources at UNO 

University Computing and Communications (UCC) has put together a set of guidelines and recommendations for the proper use of technology and computing resources at UNO. 

Accounts

All faculty, staff, and students are issued one or more of the following type of accounts:  LAN, E-mail, Blackboard, PeopleSoft, WebSTAR, and PPP.

  • LAN accounts are issued to faculty, staff, and students and are used to access the UNO network, Blackboard, and Exchange E-mail.  Faculty and staff need their LAN id and password to connect to services in the UNO network  Students need their LAN id and password to access Blackboard and other network resources and for the use of computers in all tech-fee labs. These accounts are created with a default password that must be changed to a secure password before using the associated account for the first time.

  • E-Mail accounts:

    • Exchange is an email client/server system that offers advanced calendaring and email features, and collaborating tools.  Exchange and LAN accounts use the same user id and password.

    • Student e-mail accounts use the same initial password as their LAN accounts. All e-mail addresses default to yourlanid@uno.edu. Students are forced to change their e-mail password at first login, and they can change it by referring to the instructions below.

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  • Blackboard accounts are issued to faculty, staff, and students. Blackboard is UNO's e-learning platform that allows faculty to manage and deliver courses and provides students with tools designed to improve their learning experience. Blackboard and LAN accounts use the same user id and password.

  • PeopleSoft accounts are issued to faculty and staff, and other authorized users who need to access the PeopleSoft system. PeopleSoft and LAN accounts use the same user id; however, the passwords are different.

  • WebSTAR accounts are issued to faculty, staff, and students.  Staff and faculty can use their WebSTAR accounts to access payroll information and benefits information. Students use this account to access the Webstar system in order to register, add/drop courses, pay fees, review grades, and check their class schedules.  WebSTAR accounts and LAN accounts have the same user ids and passwords. 

  • PPP accounts are issued to faculty, staff, and students. This account provides Internet access through the UNO modem pool. The PPP account user name is the same as the LAN account name and uses the initial password for the corresponding LAN account.. To change your PPP password, please refer to the instructions below.

Memorize your IDs and password .

Do not share your account information with others.

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Passwords and Safety

Your LAN account password expires every six months; however, UCC recommends that you change all of your passwords every few months to insure their security. If you have any reason to believe that any of your accounts have been compromised, immediately change your password and contact the Help Desk to report the incident.

Instructions for changing your passwords as well as choosing a secure password are available here:

How To choose a secure password

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Safe Windows Use

Please make sure to keep your version of Windows updated at home (campus computers are automatically updated) with the latest Critical Updates and Security Updates. These are available by going to the Windows Update web page. This web page needs to be loaded with Internet Explorer 5 or higher.

For Windows NT, 2000 or XP Pro, use the following tool to check the security of your computer:
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer .  Installing and running this software will check your computer for common security misconfigurations.  Once the program scans your system it will advise you if your system does not have the latest security updates and it will tell you how to correct this problem.  If you have questions about the results, please contact the Help Desk .

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Viruses

Viruses have become an everyday part of computing. It is essential that your computer be protected with the latest antivirus software. For this purpose, UNO has acquired a site license for Trends OfficeScan for on-campus systems and PC-Cilin for home systems for faculty and staff members. For instructions about installing and using the software and for the latest updates on major viruses and protection please visit http://ucc.uno.edu/virus.cfm

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SpyWare

SpyWare is a technology used to gather information about a person or organization without their knowledge. SpyWare programs can get in a computer as a software virus or as the result of installing a new program when you visit certain Web sites.    If you notice new toolbars in Internet Explorer that you did not intentionally install, or if your browser crashes often or starts at a different home page, then you probably have SpyWare installed. Most SpyWare programs, however, work in the background without you noticing it. Users can have these programs installed in their computers to secretly gather information about their activities such as Web sites visited, data entered on the Web, personal statistics, etc. While according to their private policies, some companies that install these programs claim there will be no sensitive or personal data gathered from the system, your computer is operating as a server that is constantly sending information to a remote site; thus making use of network resources.  If you suspect Spyware is installed in your system, please contact the Help Desk .

File Sharing Programs

Over the past several years, various file sharing programs (also called Peer-to-Peer software) such as KaZaA, LimeWire, and Morpheus have become very common on campus. These programs are designed to help people exchange music, videos, and other files over a network. Most of these programs are primarily used to trade MP3 files which can be quite large in size (from 2 to 10MB) and users do not realize that they  turn their machines into servers and often expose more of their files to the world than they intend. Additionally, these programs can significantly slow your machine down as well as contribute to network congestions; thereby restricting the speed with which the campus can access web pages, check e-mail and use other Internet resources. If you feel that your network connection is slow, and your computer is running file sharing programs not intended for academic purposes, you are contributing to the problem.

The files you share from your computer must conform to copyright restrictions Downloading MP3s for which you have permissions for your own use, is not necessarily a violation of copyright laws; however, redistributing MP3s by sharing them with other users is a violation of copyright laws. Be aware that sharing of MP3 and video files over the University’s network, places you and the University at risk and could violate UNO Information Technology User Policies on the use of University computing resources.

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Copyright Infringement

Distributing copyrighted material such as music, video, text, etc. without proper permissions from the owner could violate the United States Copyright Act as well as University policies. The University of New Orleans is notified by copyright holders and is required to report and cooperate with the proper state and federal authorities in the investigation of suspected cyber-crime activities.

Personal & Departmental Disk Storage Space

Personal Disk Storage Space:

Faculty and staff users have a personal disk storage space available on the file server. This storage space is known by the generic term as the I: Drive. The I: Drive is a private disk storage area that can only be accessed by the user/owner and system administrator. It is located on the administrative file server, which is backed up every 24 hours.

The I: Drive storage space is available as a storage location when saving files while working in software applications. It will appear in the locations list below the list of local drives on your PC. The contents of the I: Drive are also available for inspection through the use of the Windows Explorer facility.

The I: Drive is meant to be used for documents that are not intended for collaborative work and need the added security of the system backup. Files that need to be shared in a collaborative environment should be stored in the department’s Shared Area.

Department Shared Disk Storage Space:

To facilitate inter-office productivity, all UNO departments have a public directory setup on Administrative File Server, Admin-1. Documents stored in the labeled "Public" directory and non-private subdirectories are viewable campus-wide  by all UNO staff and faculty. This storage space is known by the generic term as the S: Drive.

A "Private" directory underneath the public departmental directory is also provided for intra-office information that should not be shared with outside departments.  Only departmental faculty and staff have access to files stored in the departmental "Private" directory.

Departmental users are expected to exercise appropriate discretion in deciding where to store public and sensitive private files.  

The S: Drive storage space is available as a storage location when saving files while working in software applications. It will appear in the locations list below the list of local drives and I: drive. The contents of the S: Drive are also available for inspection through the use of the Windows Explorer facility. Since S: drives are located on the system file server, their contents are backed up every 24 hours.

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