Laptop and Projector Availability

 

A limited number of projectors for use at conferences or for professional use are available through Media Services on a limited-time basis. Contact Media Services (706-737-1609) for more information and to check availability. It is recommended that you make your reservations as soon as your need becomes known.

Laptops for student use are also available from Media Services on a very limited time basis.

Laptop computers for faculty professional use are available through Information Technology Services. Why the difference? Because faculty often have special needs, such as specialty software or unusual time periods of need, that must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. It is our goal to assist you as best we can without causing a disservice to other faculty members.

If you need a laptop, please reserve it by calling IT Services at 706-737-1484. All checkout computers are preloaded with the Microsoft Office suite and a standard set of basic utilities, such as anti-virus software. If you have special software needs or requirements, please tell us as soon as you know. The more you tell us about what your intentions are, the better we can assist you. There may be something you say that clues us to special needs that you weren't aware you had.

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Laptop Security

 

Laptops are common targets for thieves. The thieves are interested in either the device itself OR the information it contains. While devices can be replaced, the theft of the information is considerably more problematic. Consider the impact of the loss of your presentation while you were on your way to present at a conference. Consider the impact on a student of yours when their identity is stolen based upon information contained on your laptop. When we discuss laptop security, we have to consider both the information and the physical device.

Device Security:

• Decorate, with a professional appearance, the case so that you can quickly spot your particular case if it should "walk away". The decorations should be removable without damage but not so easily that the decoration can be quickly yanked off by a thief.
  • One choice is to wrap a fabric or yarn, several times, around a handle or connection point. Another would be to attach a key ring with a colorful ASU emblem or a professional emblem.
• Be alert for common "switch" or "swipe" schemes.
  • Common "swipe" schemes involve someone picking up your case and walking away while you are distracted elsewhere (often deliberately distracted).
    
  • Common "switch" schemes involve placing a similar case near yours and then picking up your case and leaving.
    • For example, in an airport or large conference, a person sits down next to you and places his/her bag next to yours. After a moment, the person reaches down and picks up a case - yours - and walks away leaving you with their empty case. If you should happen to catch the switch, they claim it was an "honest mistake".
• Hotel rooms are easy target areas.
  • If you MUST leave your laptop in your room, place it out of sight, not on the top of the desk. Don't presume that it will be safe while you are not there. Hotel personnel have pass keys and thieves are resourceful.
    • Consider this scheme: Someone asks the desk clerk to send a maintenance man to the room to check on the air conditioner. The maintenance man uses the pass key to enter the room. While inside the thief walks in pretending that it is his room, picks up your laptop or other valuables and walks out. The maintenance man has no idea that the person entering the room was not the person renting the room.
      
  • Laptop cable locks are easily available. If you cable the laptop to something, don't make it visible from the doorway to the hall and don't attach the cable around something that can be lifted up. For example, I can place the cable around a lamp, but a lamp can be easily lifted and the laptop can disappear with the cable still attached. If I cable to a suitcase, the suitcase can be taken at the same time as the laptop.

Information Security:

The information on a laptop may be more valuable than you realize. It is wisest to presume that the information contained within is more precious than copper, silver, or gold.

A strong password is your first line of defense for your information. A "strong" password is one that is difficult for people to guess or for a computer program to discover. In general, the longer the password and the more characters you can choose from to form the password, the greater the level of difficulty for discovery.

Some systems have restricted lengths or choice of characters for passwords. It is important to know what the restrictions are.

Some basic rules for choosing a password:

• Never use a combination that can e found in a dictionary.
• Whenever possible, use combinations of lowercase letters, capital letters, numbers, and special characters.
  • For example: Ia2?yotya2?yomnb is a strong password. Are you laughing and asking yourself "how on earth can someone remember that?". It isn't as hard as you might think. The key is to think of a phrase you can remember and then to take letters, numbers, and special characters to form that phrase. Want to know how I could remember that Ia2?yotya2?yomnb is my password? Think "I am 20-something years old this year and 20-something years on my next birthday." By taking the first letter of each word, I have a combination of capital and lowercase letters and I've mixed in numbers and special characters.
  • Don't use the same password for EVERYTHING. If you do and your password is compromised the person who now knows it can access everything. You can change it? Sure, but chances are good that you will overlook a site or system and that's the one that will get you into trouble.
    
  • It is unreasonable, given the number of sites and systems in use today for a person to use a unique password for each instance. We can't remember that many and so have to resort to writing them down, which makes them vulnerable to theft. Instead, choose 3 or 4 different ones that you can remember.
• Be wary of anyone who asks for your password to a system. There are legitimate times when you might be asked for it, but there are also schemes to part you and your passwords. The legitimate times usually occur when YOU have asked a support person for assistance. The schemes often occur as the requester asks for YOUR help to verify a problem or to check something.
• If you get an email asking you to log into a site, especially one that involves financial matters, because of a problem, DO NOT USE ANY SUPPLIED LINKS. Instead visit the site using your normal bookmark or type in the address you normally use into the address line.
  • Schemes will sometimes send you a link that appears to be legitimate but instead send you to a bogus site resembling the one you normally use. If there truly is a problem with a financial site, there will usually be some sort of message awaiting you on the site. If there isn't such a message, contact the support personnel for that site and ask for confirmation of the message. Whenever possible, forward the original message to the support personnel. From that, the support personnel should be able to confirm if the message is legitimate or a scheme.

The second line of defense is requiring the use of the password. Not a favorite option, but one that is important. The key here is to balance between security and functionality.

• Example: If I have a car full of groceries for the month and need to carry them into my house, I have to decide if it is important to lock the car between each trip into my house. If I live on the 9th floor of a high-rise apartment building in a crime-ridden area, I would be foolish to leave my car unlocked between trips. If I'm parked in my driveway next to the kitchen door in a relatively safe area, locking the car between trips can be excessive.
• In a similar way, leaving your computer "un-locked" can be foolish or excessive. If I'm working at my computer and the desk phone rings, it would be excessive of me to "lock" my computer. If I'm going down the hall to the toilet (out of sight of the computer), it would be foolish of me to leave the computer "un-locked".

"Locking" a Windows-based computer requires logging out or pressing the "lock" key combination of the "FlyingWindowsKey" plus the letter L as you hold down the FlyingWindowsKey.

If you said "Huh?" to that last choice, look the spacebar on your keyboard. Then look to the left two keys. Typically, you will see the "FlyingWindows"(four wavy blocks) logo on a key. You may also see that same "FlyingWindows" logo key to the right of your spacebar on some keyboards. Like using the SHIFT key, it doesn't matter which one you use.

FlyingWindowsKey + L = lock the computer

This procedure does not interfere with anything you were doing. It simply requires the entry of a password, the same one you use when you start up your computer, to continue working.

More on information security can be found on this site.

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Wireless Access

 

Wireless access is making it possible to connect to the Internet in a wide variety of places. Such access can be wonderful, but it can also pose hazards.

Restricted wireless access requires the entering of a password. If you are attending training or a conference, you might be provided with a username and password pair that will allow you to access the wireless network. It is a common practice to change the password daily; don't expect that the password that worked yesterday will work today.

Free public wireless access is available in many hotels, many bookstores, some fast-food places - Taco Bell is the most famous for their wireless access, some "Internet Cafes", etc. The list of places offering free wireless access is growing rapidly with some cities trying to set up city-wide access.

Your laptop will sense the presence of a wireless network and ask you if you want to connect with it.

Before connecting to a wireless network, you should think "security".

• Make sure your hard drive is not shared.
• Do not allow "others" to connect to your computer.
• Exercise caution regarding the entering of passwords or display of sensitive information. For example, do not display a grade book where people can look over your shoulder at the information or watch you enter a password.

Other suggestions for wireless access security can be found here.

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Network Connections

 

When you need a modem to connect your computer with a network, such as in some hotels, you may also need an "Internet Service Provider". Augusta State does not provide remote Internet services.

This is considered a personal choice and is usually paid for by your personal funds. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will provide you with instructions for connecting while traveling. Usually this involves dialing a number specific to the area in which you will be staying. Like cell phone roaming charges, some ISPs charge more when you are away from your home. Consult their policies for pricing.

Some hotels offer Internet services via a cable connection within your hotel room. Such connections often require the use of a username and password combination. Ask at the Front Desk, or a concierge, for the password and ask if it changes daily.

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Software for Home Use

 

Augusta State has some software that, by license, may be installed on home computers.

• Our Microsoft Office Agreement allows for installation of the Microsoft Office suite onto the home computer of a faculty or staff member. Contact IT Services at 706-737-1484 or submit a Remedy ticket to request a copy on DVD.
  
• Respondus (test creation software for online or printed tests) and StudyMate (study materials and games creation software) may be installed on faculty home computers.
• Many software packages allow for the installation of software on both an office desktop computer and on a portable device, such as a laptop. These agreements often contain a clause that similar to this one "provided both the desktop and the laptop computers are not in use at the same time". The intent is to allow you to be able to work from home, but not to supply the software for others. Contact IT Services, or visit this page, for more information about home use software titles.
• The campus bookstore offers many software programs at academic discount prices for anyone with a valid ASU ID card. This is often the least expensive way to obtain software, not otherwise available, for home computers.

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Drive Z:

 

The area commonly referred to as "Drive Z:" is a file storage area on ASU computer network. Each user is granted a limited space where files can be stored for ease of movement between locations.

Drive Z: is available from off-campus for faculty via a secure FTP connection. Students wishing to access their Drive Z area can use a non-secure FTP program.

More information for faculty and for students can be found by clicking on the respective links.

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Remote Desktop Access

 

In the rare case of someone needing full access to campus resources from a or distant location, it is possible to set up a remote desktop connection that will allow you to utilize your office computer to access the resources. However, such connections have high security risks and so you can expect to have to justify such a connection and be willing to sign that you accept responsibility for the necessary security of the connection.

Normally, the "Drive Z:" access is considered sufficient for most file needs.

Contact the HelpDesk (706-737-1482) if you feel you need full remote access.

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