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Steps to a Secured Desktop

1. Assign a Strong Password – (Reference to our current setup on UST Website) When first turning on a Windows 2000 or Windows XP machine, one of the first steps that you should be asked to perform is to assign a password for your user account. Assigning a difficult-to-guess password is an important step in protecting your computer from unauthorized (mis)use. A good password is a strong, secure password. Passwords are constructed from at least three of the following characteristics and will be at least 8 characters long:
   • Numeric Character (1,2,3)
   • Special Character (*,#,$)
   • Lowercase Character (a,b,c)
   • Uppercase Character (A,B,C)
     
     
2. Safeguard your Passwords – A good password is secure password; one that is not shared with anyone. When sharing your password with others, that user puts their information that is protected by that password at great risk. Sharing passwords can cause unwanted break-ins from unknown individuals and, sometimes, by known individuals.
   
   A secure password is one that is not posted, written down, or shared. Experience hackers know to look for exposed passwords that are posted on monitors, hidden under keyboards, and or even in a desk drawer.
   
   A secure password is one that is never sent via e-mail; when e-mailing your password, that users puts their information at risk, which can been seen by other or intercepted by experience hackers.
   
   When receiving a default password, always change it immediately, the user must make the password be complex yet, easy to remember and follow the guidelines, mentioned earlier.
   
   A secured password must be changed every 90 days. Experience hackers will find ways to decrypt your password, it’s important for the user to get into the habit of changing their password.
   
   A secure password should never be used for critical services as well as for unofficial, off-campus, or entertainment sites. Experience hackers that are able to associate the user’s password that they use off site with more critical sites, in which, they could access.
   
   For information on how to select a good password, see Password Guidelines.
   
   
3. Lockup the Desktop – Based on your department policy, password protected screen savers may be required. The screen saver should display within a reasonable timeframe. This can help prevent unauthorized persons from using your computer while you are away from it. To set a password-protected screensaver:
   • Right Click on a blank part of the Windows desktop area.
   • Choose “Properties” then “ScreenSaver” Tab.
   • Select a screen saver (from the drop down list) to use

Select how many minutes of inactivity to wait before it turns on, and make sure to check the box labeled “On resume, password protect”. This will require you to enter your Windows password before using your computer again.

Another alternative to locking up your desktop is locking your keyboard. On a Window system this can be done by pressing and holding the key with the “Flying Window” (usually found next to the “Alt” key on the right side of the keyboard” and the pressing the “L” key. This will lock the keyboard and blank the monitor screen until a valid password is entered.

4. Completely remove File and Print Sharing – By default, your Windows XP workstation is configured to act like a File and Print Server. This means, other people can connect to your computer and access the files that are stored on it. They can view the files, and if they want, delete the files. Most networked printers are connected directly to the network, and therefore most people do not need Microsoft Printer Sharing. To remove File and Print Sharing from you computer:
   
   
   • Go into the Control Panel (Click the Windows Start button and choose Settings, then Control Panel)
   • Double click Network Connections (sometimes labeled Network and Internet Connections)
   • Highlight any network connection (Typically there is one labeled “Local Area Connection”)
   • Choose Properties from either the File menu or from the menu presented when you right-click on the connection
   • Highlight “File and Print Sharing”
   • Click “Uninstall”
   • Click OK a couple of times, and your computer is significantly safer from network-based intrusions
     
     
5. Install Security Patches – Its University of St. Thomas policy that all computers connected to the University network are required to have critical security patches installed within 60 days of release by the vendor. Security patches can installed by going to the Microsoft Windows Update site at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. The University currently has a deployment system where it deploys and installs the security patches, once a month. This deployment and installation is done throughout a day, installed at 3a.m., and if needed the system will automatically reboot.
   
   If your systems are powered off or left logged in, users could be prompted by a reminder to restart their computers. When this occurs, please close applications and restart your computer.
   
   
6. Install and Update Antivirus Software – Its University of St. Thomas policy that all computers connected to the University network are required to have working antivirus software installed on them and that the antivirus software must be kept up-to-date. Currently, The University of St. Thomas has specified antivirus software called McAfee Virus can Enterprise 8.0, which installs automatic updates on a daily basis, on all of the computers connected to the University network. However, there is a process to manual run the Live Updates on your computer:
   
   • Click on the shield icon on the bottom right corner of your tool bar or navigate through the Start menu (Click the Windows Start button and choose All Programs, Network Associates and then Viruscan Console)
   • Click or Highlight the Automatic Update
   • Click on green arrow icon to update.
   • Once done, you will see the results of the update. Click Finish.
     
     
7. Make Data Backup of Important Files and Folders – It’s important for users to perform data backup practice that will relief the stress and frustration of data loss. Data Backups will enable the recovery of data lost or corrupted due to user error, power failures, theft, hardware faults, or malware. Data backup can be used by anyone and for anything the user can’t or doesn’t want to recreate. A couple of effective back up routines would be the following:

• Back up important information to at least two different forms of media (e.g. thumb drive/USB stick, CDs/DVDs)
• Store the backup data in a separate, secure locations