PC/Windows

• Access to computers
  In addition to machines at the desks of department members, department-owned PCs are available in the small computing lab on the 4th floor of Building I (room 414), and will hopefully be available in the future in space in LL-23. These machines are available to all members of the department and to visitors. Please keep the lab area neat as this is a shared resource. All students also have access to the Microlab downstairs providing first rate Windows machines. We have wireless access points spread throughout the school with 2 access points in the department (corridor between buildings 1 and 2, and in the conference room - Bldg. II - 426).
• Novell
  All the PCs in the department are networked. In order to login, you need a username and a password (see below).
• Security
  • Passwords
    Ensuring that our computers are entirely secure is a difficult problem. Bugs crop up which may allow someone to subvert system security and modify or delete files. The first line of defense is to keep hackers off the system, but we need your cooperation to do this. A compromised system can lead to denial of service, loss of system staff time in cleanup, loss of data through malice or negligence, and other problems.
    
    The first step is the choice of a good password. A good password is one which makes it impossible for someone to mechanically iterate through dictionary words to try to "guess" it. The internet has had numerous problems of hackers exploiting poor passwords to break into machines. A good password 8 or more characters long, and includes several uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and punctuation characters. The password should not have any information which can be easily guessed about you. Instructions on how to change your password on Novell network can be found on the HSPH IT webpage.
  • Viruses
    Each PC has a McAfee Anti-Virus software installed. You can download this software onto your home PC/laptop from PC download page of HSPH IT department.
• Disk space/storage/saving on Microlab/Biostats Lab PCs
  Each student has a designated space on the Novell network P: drive. There is no limit on the number of files, however space is limited to 100 Mb. Please do NOT save anything to C: drive, since everything is removed from it on a daily basis. Additional space may be purchased from the IT department for a nominal fee. Details can be found on the HSPH IT Forms webpage. Students should speak with their advisor or the computing committee to determine the best solution to their storage needs.
• Software
  • Student PCs
    Each PC has some basic software installed: MS Office, R (statistical program), XEmacs (text editor), SecureCRT (telnet/ssh), AbsoluteFTP (file transfer), Xmanager (X-Window emulation software)
  • Biostats Lab PCs
    Lab PCs have the same software installed as student PCs, however they are not customizable, i.e. students cannot install additional software on them.
  • PCs in the second year student offices can be customized. At the end of the year, these PCs will be re-imaged, and all information stored from the previous year erased. So please remember to back up your files.

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  This page is maintained by The User Assistants
  Last updated: 11-13-2007