Internet 101
Do...
Choose a secure password
Run an anti-virus program
Follow ResNET usage policies
Do Not...
Leave your computer on
Abuse file-sharing programs
Send obnoxious email
Choose a Secure Password
Simple password-cracking utilies running on typical desktop computers can crack a poor password in minutes, allowing access to your computer or network accounts. These programs run off of large files that contain all the words in a language, such as English or French. They will attempt to guess your password by trying these words in different combinations; this method is called "brute force password discovery" or a "dictionary attack".
You can prevent these programs from guessing your password by picking an un-guessable combination of letters (upper and lower case), numbers, and characters (such as periods and dashes). Goods passwords should also be at least 8 characters long.
Bad Password Choices
- Your name
- The name of your spouse, child, pet, etc
- Anyone's name (real or fictional, person or animal)
- Any word in an English or foreign language dictionary
- A proper noun (like 'Dallas' or 'October')
- A string of the same letter (like 'aaaaaaa')
- Simple keyboard patterns (like 'asdf' or 'qwerty')
- A word with periods between the letters
- Any of the above with a single digit or symbol before or after it
- Any of the above backwards
Keep Your Password Secret
Now that you've got a secure password, how do you keep it secret?
- Don't write down your password. Especially not on a Post-It note stuck to your computer! If you do write down your password(s), put them in a place only you can access.
- Don't give out your password to anyone, whether you know them or not.
- Use multiple passwords. Even if it's secure, don't use the same password for every account.
- Don't select the "Remember My Password" option. Many applications don't store them securely.
- Change your password every few months.
Run an Anti-Virus Program
Downloading files is an essential part of using the Internet. Unfortunately, any file might contain a virus; even a file from someone you know, or one you wrote yourself. Not only can a virus do damage to your computer, ResNET will disconnect infected computers from the network to prevent the virus from spreading.
ResNET offers anti-virus programs free for download to UW-W students. Visit the download page for more information.
Follow ResNET Usage Policies
See our Acceptable Use, Service Guidelines, and Overview for more information.
Leave Your Computer On
If your computer is on while you're not home, you become vulnerable to both physical and network attacks. Anyone with physical access to your computer can steal unprotected passwords, abuse your network connection, or install hostile software.
Remote attackers look for computers on a network that are not protected by a firewall or are running outdated software with security holes. Depending on the method of access, intruders can cause different amounts of damage. They may even be able to cause damage to the network which will be traced to your computer, and to you.
If you must leave your computer running, you might want to invest in a lockable tower case which will deny access to your disc drives when locked. Configure a standby password; this will secure your computer if you are inactive for a certain amount of time. Also be sure you have a firewall installed as well as all available OS and software updates.
Abuse File Sharing Programs
Bandwidth is not an unlimited resource. It must be shared between thousands of student, faculty, and lab computers on the UW-Whitewater campus. However, it isn't necessarily downloading that can cause the biggest problem.
When you sign up with a peer-to-peer network like Morpheus or KaZaA, their software is usually configured to place your computer on their network as a server. That is, other user download your shared files directly from your computer. This can place a heavy burden on outbound network traffic, often delaying other users' requests.
Send Obnoxious Email
Network users are not allowed to send large quantities of unsolicited e-mail, such as chain letters and spam. Also, no user may use the network to harass another person. The UW-Whitewater Computing and Network Usage Policy defines harassment.