Computer Fitness Plan

Healthy Computer; Happy You

Here’s what you can do to keep your computer in top shape:

Inoculate

Malware programs such as viruses, spyware, Trojans and backdoors interfere with the normal functioning of your PC. Spyware programs collect information about your web browsing activity and trade it with other websites for advertising (i.e. Adware pop-ups). Some spyware programs even steal confidential information like credit card and bank numbers and transmit it to other sources for malicious use.

To keep your PC healthy, install and regularly update anti-virus and anti-spyware programs and perform regular virus and spyware scans. For any university-owned or personal computers connected to the Utah State University network, a McAfee site license is available for download at http://it.usu.edu/mcaffee.

Update

To provide high performance and security, software and hardware manufacturers release regular hot fixes and security patches. If you use a Microsoft operating system (Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista or Office) to power your computer, you can download updates from the "Windows Update" website at www.update.microsoft.com. Windows “Automatic Updates” will find and install high-priority updates for any supported Microsoft products you have installed.
 
Follow these instructions to turn on Automatic Updates:

WinXP

Right click on “My Computer” and select “Properties” or
Go to “Start” and right click on “My Computer” and select “Properties”
Click on the “Automatic Updates” tab and the following screen will appear:

Select the “Automatic (recommended)”radio button
Click “OK” to save your settings

Your computer has now been to configured to install Automatic Updates.

 

Win 2000

From the “Start” menu select the “Control Panel” and click on “Automatic Updates”
The following window will appear:

Check the box that says “Keep my computer up to date”
Select the radio button that says “Automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule that I specify”
Set schedule to “every Day” at “3:00 a.m.” or another time of your choice. Note that your computer has to be on to run Automatic Updates.
Click “OK” to save your settings.

Your computer has been configured for automatic updates.

Macintosh users can download updates from Apple’s website at http://support.apple.com/downloads. The Mac OS X “Software Update” feature makes it easy to quickly find and install available updates. By default, Mac OS X version 10.5 (and later) automatically checks for updates and notifies you when updates are ready to be installed. The default interval for update checks is weekly. You can change the interval from weekly to daily or monthly and can turn off scheduled checks if you want to.
To ensure a healthy, high-performance and secure Mac or PC install available patches and updates on a regular basis.

Note: A fully patched computer can still be compromised by hackers who target users that don’t know attachments can run malicious code on their computers. Don’t open email attachments unless you know the sender. You can also run files through an up-to-date virus scanner before you open them.

Manage Power

There is a common misconception that screen savers reduce energy use; they don’t.
Power management allows your monitor to enter a low power mode during periods of inactivity. In addition to saving energy and reducing costs, power management enhances security by reducing the chance that valuable personal information is displayed on an unattended PC.

Enable power management in Windows XP at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/maintain/powermgmt.mspx.

For technical support, contact the IT Service Desk at 797-HELP (4357) or email servicedesk@usu.edu. You may also want to consult your departmental computer support technician before implementing this or any other computer fitness program.