Tuesday, September 21, 2010 - Almanac Vol. 57, No. 4Protecting Home Computers
One of the most common reasons that computers get hacked is because of outdated software. On-campus, your Local Support Provider (LSP) keeps your computer and software up-to-date for you. But how do you protect yourself at home? With the Supported Products website and Penn’s PennConnect DVD, you can protect your personal computer at home—for free!
Using outdated software leaves you vulnerable to a number of threats online, including malicious websites, email attachments and instant messages. Compromise can mean viruses, worms, trojans, adware and spyware that can result in stolen credentials, your private web browsing habits being exposed, frequent pop-up windows, and a sluggish computer—to name just a few symptoms! When you use the most current software, your computer is much less likely to get hacked.
At home, you should enable auto-updating for your operating system and all your applications whenever possible.You should also use the anti-virus software that Penn makes available to you for free. You can download the anti-virus software from the Supported Products web site at www.upenn.edu/computing/product. Or you can get the same software from your copy of the cross-platform Penn Connect DVD-ROM, available for pick up at the Computing Resource Center, Suite 202 Sansom West, at 3650 Chestnut Street.
In addition to anti-virus, other recommended networking and security software clients such as IM, FTP, AirPennNet and more, are available for download from the Supported Products page. Visit www.upenn.edu/computing/product annually for the latest downloads.
For information about Penn’s recommended applications, contact your LSP.
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