Information protection and computer security have become increasingly important issues to many computer users. Computer viruses have become more sophisticated and as more and more users leave their computers connected to the Internet 24x7, attacks by hackers have increased dramatically.
If you are using your computer to conduct research or to complete assignments or for business, then it is important that you take the necessary precautions to protect the data and information that is stored on your computer. The University expects that any institutional data stored on computers, whether on campus or at you place of residence, must be protected.
The University is increasingly taking a pro-active approach to data protection. For example, an institutional license for anti-virus software makes this software available at no cost to all students, faculty and staff. This should reduce instances of infections that generate a lot of unnecessary traffic on our networks as well as protect data and information from being inadvertently divulged to unauthorized individuals. Another initiative is a service that enables departments to backup network servers.
As part of the UTORProtect Program initiated by Computing & Networking Services, this Best Practices document was developed in order to assist all users associated with the University to protect their computers and the data and information stored on computers.
Download the current DRAFT version of the Best Practices document (updated 06/17/2002 09:15a.m.).
This document is intended to assist students, faculty and staff to determine how best to protect their computers. It is not intended to address technical issues nor is it a detailed "how to" or "do it yourself" technical reference document.
If you have any comments on the content or if you have any suggestions on how we can improve this document, please feel free to contact Computer Security Administration in Computing & Networking Services by email at security.admin@utoronto.ca.
