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.
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.
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.
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:
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. If you have questions, please
contact the Help
Desk .
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 Microsoft Forefront for on-campus and home use 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/facstaff/Forefront.cfm
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.
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.
