The University is maintaining an extremely convenient environment, and our members could easily enjoy the University's facilities by connecting their own devices, such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones, to our network.
However, this convenience also comes with considerable threats as your devices are also targeted and may be used as a tool to attack our facilities and other Internet sites. Therefore, we are relying on each of you to keep our network and computing environment safe, and please allow us to draw your attention to protecting your devices by reiterating some of the best practices again.
First things first, always use licensed and supported operating systems and software, e.g. Windows, iOS, Android & Photoshop. Install only legitimate software applications and plug-ins (add-ons) and choose the automatic update option if available when installing. Keep all installed software up-to-date. Please don't jailbreak your mobile phones which can open the gate for malicious attacks. Install apps from trusted sources only. Reboot your computers daily as this is required to make updates effective. It is also recommended to uninstall programs that you are no longer using.
Secondly, ensure antivirus is effective and up-to-date, as well as enable your host firewall if it is available. This is true for Windows, Mac OSX, iOS and Android. Some myths say that OSX and iOS are immune to viruses, but it is not true. If you are interested to know more, search the Internet for "WireLurker" and "Masque Attack", just to name a few.
Thirdly, use different web browsers for different purposes, for example, do not use the same browser for eBanking and web surfing. Also, be cautious about pop-up windows and never install unknown browser plugins, which may be viruses or spyware.
Fourthly, if you are sharing your computer or mobile devices with family, please use different accounts and do not grant administrator privileges. There are so many "free" games and software; while some of them may be malware, most of them are monitoring us in some way. Allowing everyone the right to install software is a great risk.
Removable Storage Devices
- Use university-provided shared drive or cloud storage as far as practicable.
- Be cautious when using external USB drives or memory cards from unknown sources. Always scan the USB drives or memory cards with up-to-date anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-malware, etc. before use.
- Avoid storing restricted or confidential information in removable devices.
- Enable the encryption feature on removable devices.