Requirements and Recommendations - Fall 2005

For students bringing their computers to campus and/or connecting them to the campus network, Carthage has both requirements and recommendations, as explained below.

Requirements

Symantec Anti-Virus Corporate Edition is required on all computers used on campus. It is provided free of charge to all students, faculty, and staff. CDs and instructions for installation are available in the Hedberg Library. Other anti-virus software must be removed before installing SAV. Users are expected to keep their virus definitions up to date. We recommend that the software be configured to download and install new definitions each day. We require that definitions not be more than 30 days old. Students whose computers do not meet the anti-virus requirements will not be allowed to connect their computers to the campus network. The NetReg agent enforces this policy.

Service Pack 2 is required for all computers running WindowsXP. It can be obtained from update.microsoft.com or in any Carthage residence hall room from the NetReg server. Windows XP computers that do not have SP2 installed will not be allowed to connect their computers to the campus network. The NetReg agent enforces this policy.

Recommendations

To keep your Windows computer running more smoothly and to prevent problems, we recommend the following software be installed and in use:

• Microsoft anti-spyware is currently provided free of charge by Microsoft. You can download it from www.microsoft.com. It pro-actively scans for spyware activity whereas AdAware and SpyBot Search and Destroy will only run when the user initiates a scan.
• Google toolbar is a useful tool to prevent pop-ups, although it will not eliminate the cause of the pop-ups. It can be downloaded from toolbar.google.com.
• Mozilla Firefox is an alternative browser to Microsoft Internet Explorer. Firefox is less vulnerable to viruses and spyware than IE. While you may continue to use IE as your primary browser, we strongly recommend that you install Firefox as a backup in case IE becomes inoperative or your computer becomes infested with spyware and pop-ups. It can be downloaded from www.mozilla.org.
• Windows Update should be set on your computer to download and install critical updates daily. While Windows patches can occasionally create problems, not installing patches is far more dangerous for your computer. Go to update.microsoft.com.