Quick Tips
The following are some quick and very basic tips regarding safe computing. These are the minimum guidelines that everyone should be following!
- Establish strong passwords. Do not use birthdays, pet or children's names or other easily identifiable words. Try to mix upper and lower case letters and add number whenever possible. Use the NCSU password guidelines, and change your password once a semester.
- Manage your desktop and laptop computers carefully. Keep antivirus software on your machines and up-to-date at all times.
- Maintain all patches and security updates related to your operating system.
- Secure wireless networks. Do not connect or allow network access to an unknown user or machine.
- Respect intellectual property and copyright laws. You are responsible for your actions! Know the rules: review the NC State Computing Rules and Regulations.
- Use the tools available to you to avoid or limit SPAM (on campus, use PureMessage filters). Do not open suspicious emails, and verify unexpected attachments prior to opening them. You should never need to run a .exe file from your email.
- Back-up important personal, professional and academic data.
- Be cautious anytime you use your name, credit card, bank or social security numbers. Do not publish your address, phone number or other personal information.
- Refrain from online harassment yourself, whether in email, chat rooms, on blogs or forums or in any other format.
- Be very cautious before meeting any online friend in person. Take someone with you, or at least let someone know where you are going and with whom. Plan to meet in a public place.